President Moon Jae-in has granted special pardons to more than five-thousand minor offenders, conscientious objectors, activists and politicians convicted of bribery ahead of the new year.

The Justice Ministry said on Monday that a total of five-thousand-174 people will be pardoned and have their rights reinstated on Tuesday, as part of government efforts toward national unity.

In some cases, former public figures who had already been released from prison had their civil rights reinstated, raising the possibility of their resuming their careers. Former Gangwon Province Governor Lee Kwang-jae, former Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Superintendent Kwak No-hyun and former Korean Confederation of Trade Unions(KCTU) President Han Sang-gyun were among such cases.

Lee, a close aide to late former President Roh Moo-hyun, lost his governorship in 2011 after he was sentenced to six months suspended for a year for violating political funding laws.

Kwak was stripped of his post in 2012, after his one-year sentence was confirmed for paying a fellow candidate to drop out of an election, and Han was sentenced to three years in prison in 2015 for leading an illegal rally.

Over one-thousand-800 conscientious objectors had restrictions on potential government employment and other qualifications lifted.

This is the third round of special pardons issued by President Moon since taking office in May 2017.