Former President Lee Myung-bak, now serving a 17-year prison time for corruption, has filed for a suspension of his sentence, citing health issues, prosecution sources said Wednesday.

The 81-year-old's petition was filed with the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors Office, 23 kilometers south of Seoul, on Friday, they said.

The prosecution office said it will hold a deliberation committee meeting and decide whether to release Lee from the Anyang Correctional Institution.

Lee, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, has been serving the sentence since the Supreme Court finalized the 17-year prison term in October 2020.

Lee has been in and out of the hospital during his imprisonment for chronic diseases, including diabetes.

Lee was first imprisoned in March 2018 during the prosecution investigation, before being released on bail in March 2019.

Lee then was reincarcerated in February 2020 following a higher court's ruling but was released again six days later after he challenged the cancellation and the court decided to suspend the execution of the prison sentence until the highest court's ruling on the appeal was made.

Lee was excluded from the presidential pardons by former President Moon Jae-in, under which jailed ex-President Park Geun-hye was set free. (Yonhap)