South Korea's Yoon invites ex-president he once prosecuted to his inauguration

SEOUL, April 12 (Reuters) - South Korea's president-elect Yoon Suk-yeol invited disgraced former president Park Geun-hye to attend his inauguration next month, when the two met on Tuesday (April 12) for first time since Mr Yoon led a corruption probe five years ago that landed Ms Park in prison.

Mr Yoon, a former prosecutor-general and the new standard-bearer of Ms Park's conservative party, is keen to heal lingering wounds in his party after barely winning last month's bitterly fought presidential election.

He faces historically low approval ratings as he prepares to take office and his People Power Party will soon face another test at the polls in local elections on June 1, just weeks after his May 10 inauguration.

Mr Yoon visited Ms Park, 70, at her home in the south-eastern city of Daegu, where she has lived since a pardon last December after serving nearly five years of a 20-year sentence on corruption charges.

"As we have past history... I told her I felt sorry about that," Mr Yoon told reporters after the meeting. They also talked about her health and daily life, he said.

Mr Kwon Young-se, an official on Mr Yoon's transition team who had also worked for Ms Park, said in a briefing that Mr Yoon invited the former president to his inauguration during the meeting, and Ms Park promised to try to come despite her poor health.

Mr Yoon, whose advisers include former Park aides, said he would adopt some of her policies so that "she can regain her honour", Mr Kwon said.

Mr Yoo Yeong-ha, a Park lawyer who also attended Tuesday's meeting, said Ms Park, who as president promoted strong ties with Washington, stressed that the economy could not develop without a strong foundation in diplomacy and security, and urged Mr Yoon to "build trust" with many countries.

The imprisonment of Ms Park, the daughter of former dictator Park Chung-hee, had divided a country in which old Cold War rivalries between right and left still hold sway in politics, while creating a rift within the conservative camp.

Mr Yoon won the March 9 election by a record narrow margin of 0.7 per cent, and a poll released on Monday by Realmeter showed that only 50.4 per cent of respondents said Mr Yoon would carry out his presidential duties well, while 45.3 per cent expected a poor performance.

Newly elected presidents in South Korea have typically enjoyed a honeymoon period with much higher approval ratings.

Mr Yoon shot to fame after investigating Ms Park, who was convicted of colluding with a friend to solicit millions of dollars from large corporations, which were then transferred to her friend's family and several non-profit groups.