The two former presidents were released simultaneously from prisons in different parts of the capital. Both looked healthy and relaxed as they emerged into the glare of television lights, just over two years after they were first detained.

Chun Doo-hwan, who seized power in a military coup in 1979, thanked people for their support and then spoke about the economic crisis, which is threatening to bring about the first recession in South Korea for 20 years. He said he didn't understand how it had happened but he believed the country had the ability to overcome it.

Chun presided over spectacular economic growth during his eight years in office. He was greeted by crowds of well-wishers as he arrived at his home in western Seoul.

Roh Tae-woo was receiving a similar welcome nearby. He succeeded his former army colleague as president in democratic elections in 1987 but he was also implicated in the coup and both men were convicted of collecting bribes worth hundreds of millions of dollars during their terms in office.

The amnesty was agreed on Saturday during a meeting between two men once persecuted under the dictatorship - President Kim Young-sam and the new president-elect, Kim Dae-jung, who narrowly won an election victory last week. The amnesty is intended to send a message of reconciliation to conservatives, who have long feared Kim Dae-jung as a dangerous radical out for political revenge.