Korea broke away from Japanese rule in the past and gained independence, which was designated as “Gwangbokjeol. And on this day every year, special pardons were issued to those who were executed.Around the time of the new administration, many politicians and high-ranking officials, including former President Lee Myung-Bak, former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, and former NIS chiefs Nam Jae-joon and Lee Byung-ki, were excluded from the list. Analysts say that it reflects negative public opinion about the pardon of politicians as it is President Yoon Seok-yeol’s first exercise of the right to pardon. The Ministry of Justice’s pardon review committee was held for about five hours on the 9th. It consists of nine members, including Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon (Chairman of the Review Committee), but Minister Han did not attend the meeting as usual. Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon returns to the Gwacheon Ministry of Justice after attending a Cabinet meeting on the 9th, as if the low approval rating of the president has been a variable, “negative public opinion on MB amnesty (former president’s initials).” The Ministry of Justice held a meeting of the Amnesty Review Committee to select the subjects of the Liberation Day Special Envoy.
The committee said that the remaining eight amnesty members also had little disagreement on excluding politicians. Shortly after the end of the meeting, a judge said, “The number of pardons was smaller than I thought.” The amnesty was focused on “envitalizing the economy.” Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jae-yong and Lotte Group Chairman Dong-bin Shin are said to have been on the pardon list. Analysts say that President Yoon’s expectation to make efforts to create jobs and invest through a corporate amnesty was lowered. However, it is said that amnesty for businessmen was only a single digit. It is said that there were many opinions inside the president’s office that the president should be cautious about pardons at a time when the president’s approval rating was lower than expected in the early days of On the other hand, all politicians and high-ranking government officials, including former President Lee Myung Bak, were excluded from the amnesty. Former President Lee is known to be highly likely to be pardoned due to health problems such as diabetes and courtesy of former presidents, but failed to overcome the amnesty stance of “excluding politicians” at the last minute. Former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyung-soo, who had been mentioned as a pardon for political balance with former President Lee, was also excluded from the list. In the ruling party, it is said that personnel involved in “serious crimes such as corruption and election manipulation” were not targeted from the beginning. Analysts say that former Governor Kim’s pardon was considered in consideration of opposition opposition parties’ opposition if only conservative figures were pardoned, but former President Lee was excluded and former Governor Kim was naturally excluded.
A senior presidential official said in a telephone interview, “Under the principle of minimizing pardons for politicians, MB pardons will be difficult this time. Former South Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyung-soo said, “It is Yoon Seok-yeol’s process and rule of law to follow the results of the Justice Ministry’s amnesty review committee that made this decision.” Regarding the background of the sudden reversal of the former president Lee’s pardon, which was considered a fait accompli, the “decline in approval ratings” is cited. President Yoon, who vowed to pursue an MB pardon after taking office during the presidential election, has been supporting the pardon side since taking office, saying, “It is not right to let him serve 20 years in prison.” “In the beginning, President Yoon wanted to pardon the MB,” said a presidential official who wanted to remain anonymous. “We have to pay more attention to public opinion because the approval rating has fallen to around 20 percent.” Another staff member confessed on the condition of anonymity, “Public opinion is the most important, and the MB pardon has a large negative public opinion.” However, some aides say that the possibility of President Yoon changing his decision at the last minute cannot be ruled out at all as the amnesty is a highly controlled act. Former NIS chiefs Nam Jae-joon and Lee Byung-ki, who were convicted of paying special activity expenses to former President Park Geun Hye, are also not subject to pardons. Former director Nam and former director Lee were both released from prison after their parole was decided in May. Some predicted that President Yoon would only pardon and not do the lottery, but it was said that there was a lot of negative opinion in the president’s office in that it was a fund-related crime by high-ranking government officials. Former lawmaker Choi Kyung-hwan and former senior presidential secretary for political affairs Jeon Byung-hun, who were convicted of bribery, were also excluded from the pardon for the same reason. The list of special pardons selected by the Amnesty Review Committee will be finalized by President Yoon after Minister Han Dong-hoon reports to the president. The results of the amnesty are expected to be officially announced on the 12th, the day before the Liberation Day holiday begins.
EJ SONG
ASIA JOURNAL
