South Korean prosecutors have decided to suspend the imprisonment of former president Lee Myung-bak for three months due to health reasons.

Prosecutors made the decision on Tuesday, saying that keeping Lee imprisoned could significantly worsen his health.

He is serving a 17-year sentence for charges including bribery.

While in office, he pardoned a former chairman of Samsung Electronics in return for the company shouldering lawsuit expenses for an auto parts firm that Lee effectively owned.

The 80-year-old former president has been in and out of hospital due to diabetes and other chronic illnesses.

He filed for suspension of his imprisonment earlier this month.

South Korean media say Lee checked into a hospital in Seoul last week. His imprisonment will resume after three months if he is judged to have no health issues.

It is customary for the South Korean president to issue a pardon every August to mark the liberation from Japanese colonial rule at the end of World War Two.

The media are speculating that Lee may be granted a pardon this year.