President Park Geun-hye granted special pardons Thursday to a high-profile businessman and more than 6,500 people ahead of Liberation Day.
“I decided to grant special pardons in order to help forge national reconciliation and revitalize the economy, as well as boost people’s spirits,” Park said in a Cabinet meeting.
The beneficiaries included SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, but Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon was excluded, Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong said.
The total number of beneficiaries stood at 6,527 people, including Hanwha Group Vice Chairman Kim Hyun-chung. Most of them are ordinary convicts, according to the Justice Ministry.
The pardons are part of celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea’s independence from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.
Liberation Day, which falls on Aug. 15, is one of the major holidays in South Korea. Presidents usually grant special pardons in commemoration of major national holidays.
Speculation had been high that Park would use the pardons to get badly needed cooperation from the business community as Asia’s fourth-largest economy has been faltering as of late.
Last year, South Korea’s top court upheld a four-year jail sentence against Chey for embezzling 46.5 billion won ($43.6 million) from two SK Group affiliates and funneling the funds into personal investments in stock futures and options in 2008.
In February, an appeals court gave Kim, the Hanwha chief, a three-year sentence for illegally using company money to pay back the debts of firms he ran under borrowed names. The sentence was suspended for five years, saving him from serving a jail term. (Yonhap)
