He was convicted in 1996 of bribing former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo but pardoned a year later by then-president Kim Young-sam.

WSJ: South Korea Plans to Pardon Former Samsung Chairman

Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, both former presidents, went to jail for soliciting hundreds of millions of dollars from the country's biggest business groups.

ECONOMIST: Roh Moo-hyun

Roh is the nation's third former president to be summoned, following in the footsteps of Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, both of whom were convicted in 1995 of receiving bribes and inciting a mutiny.

CNN: South Korea's Roh apologizes to nation

And, in a bid to bury past traumas, Kim endorsed the pardon extended his old nemesis, former strongman Chun Doo Hwan, and ex-president Roh Tae Woo, both convicted criminals.

CNN: A year of Living Dangerously