Following the confirmation of former President Park Geun-hye’s 20-year prison sentence, the presidential office said such an unfortunate episode should never happen again.

Top office spokesperson Kang Min-seok said Thursday that placing a former president behind bars must become a history lesson so that it doesn’t happen in the future.

Kang said the Supreme Court’s ruling marks the end of the influence-peddling scandal that began with a series of anti-government candlelight vigils that were followed by Park’s impeachment.  

Kang said the constitutional principle that South Korea is a democratic republic was realized through the court ruling.

The top office, however, kept a cautious stance on commenting on the possibility of Park being pardoned. A key official of the presidential office told reporters that it is not appropriate to talk about that issue right after the court’s verdict.  

President Moon Jae-in is likely to reveal his stance on the matter of pardoning both Park and former President Lee Myung-bak when asked related questions during a New Year press conference set to take place soon.