President Yoon pardons Lee Myung-bak, former South Gyeongsang gov.
Published: 27 Dec. 2022, 13:10
Updated: 27 Dec. 2022, 14:30
Former President Lee Myung-bak, left, and former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo
After a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon revealed in a press conference the final shortlist of 1,373 individuals granted year-end pardons by the president including Lee and Kim.
Lee served as president from 2008 to 2013. The 80-year-old has been serving a 17-year sentence for embezzlement and bribery since November 2020.
Kim, an ally of former President Moon Jae-in, was sentenced to two years in prison for conspiring to manipulate opinion online ahead of the 2017 presidential election.
Kim was granted a pardon without a reinstatement of rights which will prevent him from running in elections for the next five years. Thus, he won’t be able to run for office until May 2028, and he will not be able to run in the general elections in 2024.
The pardons are expected to go into effect Wednesday midnight.
This marks Yoon’s second round of pardons since Liberation Day in August, where business tycoons including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin were granted amnesty.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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