South Korea Frees 357 Dissidents as Reform Continues
The government today freed 357 political prisoners, some of them jailed for years, in the second major release of detainees since President Chun Doo Hwan agreed to broad democratic reforms.
Officials said the government is expected to announce Thursday a plan to grant amnesty to about 2,000 dissidents stripped of their civil rights, including leading dissident Kim Dae Jung.
A Justice Ministry spokesman said the prisoners released today in 26 cities included 318 students and 39 other people, all jailed for political offenses.
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