President Yoon Suk-yeol granted special pardons to 1,373 convicts on Wednesday, and two of the most high-profile South Koreans to receive pardons were former President Lee Myung-bak and former provincial governor Kim Kyoung-soo.

Lee was sentenced to a 17-year prison term for various corruption crimes but was released from prison temporarily in June over health concerns. Kim, a former South Gyeongsang Province governor, was serving a two-year prison term for his involvement in an online opinion-rigging scandal.