Former President Park Geun-hye visited a Buddhist temple in the conservative-leaning southern city of Daegu on Tuesday in 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 kilometers southeast of Seoul, in the late morning.
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 with the monk.
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 political 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 when moving on foot, such as walking on stairs.
Park was also scheduled to have teatime 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 organized in response to the senior monk's invitation made on her past birthday.
Source: Yonhap News Agency