"Don't want to be a burden"? "Then the president should 'pardon' to give a chance to repay the burden"

Busan Gijang County Mayor Oh Gyuseok Sends Second Appeal Letter to President Moon for Lee Jae-yong's Pardon

"Who would make investment decisions with the head of the group imprisoned? To avoid causing trouble, step down from frontline management"

The opening part of the appeal letter sent by Oh Gyu-seok, the mayor of Busan's Gijang County, to President Moon Jae-in.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Oh Gyu-seok, the mayor of Busan's Gijang County, has sent a second appeal letter to President Moon Jae-in requesting a pardon for Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics.

Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who underwent surgery and was hospitalized at Samsung Seoul Hospital due to acute appendicitis while detained in a detention center, will be discharged on the 15th and return to the detention center.

Vice Chairman Lee decided on an early discharge and return to the detention center, saying, "I do not want to cause any inconvenience."

Regarding this, Mayor Oh sent a second appeal letter to President Moon Jae-in, asking, "Please give the opportunity of a pardon so that he can repay the inconvenience caused to South Korea and the Gijang economy."

Previously, on February 1, Mayor Oh had sent an appeal letter to President Moon Jae-in pleading, "I implore the President to allow Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong of Samsung Electronics to join the economic war against COVID-19 by removing the shackles of a pardon."

In this second appeal letter, Mayor Oh said he took up his pen upon hearing the news of Vice Chairman Lee’s discharge, who said, "I do not want to cause any inconvenience."

The appeal letter stated, "Gijang County is developing the 'Southeastern Radiation Medical and Science Industrial Complex,' an industrial cluster for radiation technology (RT) leading the non-nuclear power sector, on a site of 1,478,772㎡ (approximately 450,000 pyeong) with an investment of 319.7 billion KRW from the county budget. Major national projects such as the export-oriented new research reactor development project, heavy ion accelerator, establishment of a radioactive isotope fusion research foundation, and power semiconductor industry cluster development project are underway. We are confident that Gijang County will become a mecca of the future industrial revolution, creating future growth industries that go beyond Gijang County to the entire Republic of Korea," it added.

It continued, "We are building this with the blood, sweat, and passion of each of the 176,000 residents of Gijang County so that large corporations and strong small and medium enterprises will voluntarily come to Gijang County. How can any professional manager easily make investment decisions while the head of a large corporation is detained?" demanding the President’s decisive action.

Mayor Oh said, "Regarding Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong’s words, 'I do not want to cause any inconvenience,' my anger outweighed my concern for his health. If he truly did not want to cause inconvenience to the people of Gijang County and the citizens of the Republic of Korea, the place he should be is not the detention center but at the forefront of management."

He also added, "When war breaks out, even generals who have committed crimes go to the battlefield and earn their merits risking their lives, thereby paying the price for their crimes. While we respect and accept the court’s judgment, I earnestly appeal to the President to make a decision of pardon regarding the way the price for the crime is paid."