The government said Tuesday more than 150,000 people, most of them traffic violators and government officials disciplined for minor offenses, will be pardoned under a special amnesty this week.

The pardon will be issued on Friday, the 50th anniversary of South Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule in 1945.

The government usually marks such holidays with amnesty and other special programs.

Most of the beneficiaries are already free after serving out their terms or completing punitive measures.

Among them are 120,000 government officials disciplined for various reasons and about 20,000 people involved in such infractions as issuing bad checks, drunk driving and other traffic violations.