US News
New York Governor Kathy Hochul pardons Purple Heart veteran who self-deported
The pardon of Sae Joon Park's decades-old convictions allows his legal team to petition for the reversal of his removal order.
The short version
- New York Governor Kathy Hochul granted a pardon to Sae Joon Park, a Purple Heart veteran who self-deported to South Korea last year.
- Park, who has lived in the United States since age seven, was ordered deported due to convictions for bail jumping and drug possession that occurred more than 15 years ago.
- While the pardon does not grant Park an automatic right to return to the U.S., his legal team plans to use it to ask the Board of Immigration Appeals to vacate his removal order.
Key facts
- New York Governor Kathy Hochul pardoned Sae Joon Park, erasing his convictions of drug possession and bail jumping.[NPR]
- Park immigrated to the U.S. at age seven, became a legal permanent resident, joined the Army at 19, and received a Purple Heart after being shot in the back during the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama.[NPR]
- Park stated that he struggled with undiagnosed PTSD following his service, leading to drug addiction and criminal convictions, for which he served three years in prison before getting sober and living in Hawaii.[NPR]
- In June 2025, immigration authorities warned Park he would be detained and deported due to his past convictions, prompting him to self-deport to South Korea later that month.[NPR]
- According to Park's attorney, Danicole Ramos, the pardon will be used to ask the Board of Immigration Appeals to vacate Park's removal order, though it does not guarantee his return.[NPR]
What remains uncertain
- It remains uncertain whether the Board of Immigration Appeals will agree to vacate Park's removal order and allow him to return to the United States.[NPR]