Politicians excluded from Yoon Suk-yeol's first pardons

Politics

Published: 10 Aug. 2022, 16:04 Updated: 10 Aug. 2022, 17:57

Politicians excluded from Yoon Suk-yeol's first pardons

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon answers questions from reporters at the Ministry of Justice in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Tuesday, ahead of his ministry’s review committee meeting to select candidates for presidential pardons on Liberation Day. [NEWS1]

Former President Lee Myung-bak and former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo are not expected to be pardoned by President Yoon Suk-yeol on Liberation Day next Monday.

On Tuesday, the Justice Ministry's review committee screened candidates for presidential pardons including high-profile liberal and conservative politicians and business leaders. A final decision will be made by the president later this week.

The Justice Ministry's recommendations to the president exclude major political figures, presumably to avoid controversy as Yoon's approval ratings have fallen below 30 percent in recent polls, unusually low for a president at the beginning of his term.

Yoon's first round of special pardons since taking office is expected to include business moguls such as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin.

Lee was sentenced to 30 months in jail for bribing former President Park Geun-hye, but was released from prison on parole last August. Because of his conviction, Lee cannot be employed at Samsung for several years, which technically prevents him from taking control.

The Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes Act stipulates that people convicted on charges of embezzlement of more than 500 million won ($381,525) can't be employed at any company connected with their criminal activity for five years after a prison sentence is served.

Lotte's Shin was also convicted of bribing Park and given a jail sentence of 30 months suspended for four years.

Major business organizations, religious groups and public opinion polls have supported the pardoning of business moguls for the sake of helping the economy.

In a parliamentary meeting last week, Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said special pardons for business leaders would be "helpful" for the economy. The Yoon government has hopes for large conglomerates to play a role in job creation and investments.

In contrast, pardons for political figures have been divisive and viewed more negatively in public opinion polls.

The nine-member Justice Ministry's review committee is headed by Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who didn't take part in the five-hour meeting to screen candidates in person, as is customary.

There reportedly wasn't any disagreement on excluding major political figures during the meeting. A committee member said after the meeting that there were fewer pardons than initially expected.

Han will report the Justice Ministry's shortlist to Yoon, who will make the final decision and get Cabinet approval.

The decision is expected to be announced Friday, ahead of Liberation Day. Such national holidays are traditionally an occasion for the president to grant pardons.

As the Justice Ministry's pardons review committee is not a decision-making body, the final shortlist will ultimately be up to Yoon.

Former President Lee Myung-bak had initially been expected to be pardoned, taking into consideration his age of 80 and health problems such as diabetes.

Yoon has repeatedly indicated he was keen on a pardon for Lee.

In June, Yoon told reporters when asked about Lee, "It is not right for him to be imprisoned for more than 20 years."

Lee, a conservative president from 2008 to 2013, has been serving a 17-year sentence for embezzlement and bribery since 2018. In late June, Suwon prosecutors suspended Lee's prison sentence for three months over health concerns.

Kim, an ally of former President Moon Jae-in who served as governor from 2018 to 2021, was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to manipulate online opinion ahead of the 2017 presidential election.

Kim's pardon has often been paired with Lee's, taking into consideration political balance and possible backlash from the liberals if only a conservative figure was pardoned.

However, Lee reportedly has told his supporters not to "beg" the government for a pardon. He was not keen on being paired off as a "one-plus-one" deal with Kim during the previous Moon Jae-in administration.

Lee Jae-oh, an adviser to Yoon's People Power Party (PPP) who is close to Lee, told the JoongAng Ilbo Wednesday, "In a phone call with former President Lee this morning, he told me, 'President Yoon must have his plans,' and that 'it is okay not to be pardoned if it is helpful in stabilizing state affairs.'"

At the end of last December, President Moon granted a special pardon to former President Park taking into consideration her poor health.

In turn, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo of the PPP posted on Facebook Wednesday, "Pardons are not to be held to the standards of prosecution but to that of politics. Forgive both former President Lee and former Gov. Kim and move onto a greater national unity."

He added, "Be a leader who leads public opinion, not a leader who is led by public opinion."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]