Chun Doo Hwan and Roh Tae woo ruled south Korea for 12 years after staging a military coup in 1979.

They were both arrested two years ago on charges of treason in connection with the coup and the later massacre of civilian demonstrators in the city of Kwangju. They were also charged with amassing hundreds of millions of dollars in bribes during their terms in office.

Chun was sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment and Roh to a 17 year jail term. The announcement of an amnesty come just two days after the election of Kim Dae Jung, a former political dissident who was persecuted under the dictatorship and who was himself sentenced to death while Chun was in office.

The amnesty comes as little surprise, no one expects that the former generals to serve long in prison, the cases against them were seen more as elaborate political theatre than a genuine legal process. But the timing of the amnesty was in some doubt some had expected them to be released before the election to try to sure up support for the ruling party among conservative voters.