On this day, 28 years ago, April 17, 1997 (March 11, 1997 in the lunar calendar), the South Korean court finally ruled on former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae Woo. South Korean courts finally sentenced two former presidents. The picture shows former South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan (first from right). Former South Korean presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were sentenced by the South Korean Grand Court on April 17, 1997 to life imprisonment and recovery of 220.5 billion won, and 17 years in prison and recovery of 262.8 billion won, respectively, for the crimes of "military rebellion","civil unrest" and "corruption and bribery" for allegedly masterminding the "December 12" military coup in 1979 and the "May 18" Gwangju incident in 1980. However, this amnesty does not include exemption from recovery payments, nor does it restore the status they originally enjoyed by former presidents. On December 22, 1997, South Korea's two former presidents, Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were sentenced and detained, were pardoned by President Kim Young-sam in the morning and were released home. Also released were other criminals related to the two former presidents or who had served illegal sentences during the current regime, including former Defense Minister Lee Yang-ho.