Ex-S.Korean Prez makes first public appearance after pardon

Seoul, April 11 (IANS) Former South Korean President Park Geun-hye visited a Buddhist temple in Daegu on Tuesday, marking her first official public appearance since relocating to the city last year following a presidential pardon.

Donning a white jacket and a pearl necklace with her signature updo hairstyle, Park arrived at Donghwa Temple of the Jogye Order in northern Daegu, 237 km southeast of Seoul, earlier in the day, reports Yonhap News Agency.

A senior monk greeted Park at the temple and the former President briefly put her hands together in a Buddhist hand gesture and burnt incense in front of a Buddha statue before exchanging pleasantries.

It was her first official public event since she moved to a house in her hometown of Daegu in March 2022.

Park was pardoned in December the previous year after spending four years and nine months in prison on a 22-year sentence for corruption.

Since the relocation to Daegu, Park had largely stayed out of the public eye.

A crowd of journalists and supporters gathered for her rare public appearance on Tuesday, but she did not make any remarks.

Waving to supporters and shaking hands with some of them, Park looked cheerful and in good shape, but she had to use a vehicle to move about inside the temple compound and almost lost her footing on several occasions.

Park was also scheduled to have tea with the temple's head monk and lunch with temple officials during Tuesday's visit behind closed doors.

Yoo Yeong-ha, a lawyer and aide to Park who accompanied her on the visit, dismissed any political implications of Park's public appearance, saying it was only organised in response to the senior monk's invitation made on her past birthday.