[What Do You Think?] Special Pardon for Former President Requires Genuine Apology and Reflection First

[濁流淸論(Takryu Cheongron)] Pardon Without Genuine Apology and Reflection Is a Mirage

Noh Young-hee, Attorney at Law, Gangnam Branch (Former Spokesperson of the Korean Bar Association)

Takryu Cheongron is a column that provides in-depth analysis and diagnosis by experts in the relevant fields on socially contentious topics. This week's topic is ‘The Pardon Debate for Former Presidents.’

Before the grief over the death of their mother could properly heal, the father brought a new stepmother home from somewhere. The stepmother hated the children from the previous marriage and abused them with extreme selfishness, causing the children to suffer wounds and trauma so severe that recovery was difficult. Unable to bear it any longer, the father drove the stepmother out. However, not long after expelling her, the father said, "Let's create a harmonious family," and declared, "I will bring the stepmother back home." It was unclear whether the stepmother was remorseful or if the children wanted this. After the father left for work, the children left at home with the stepmother felt suffocated by the subtle and uneasy atmosphere and struggled with discomfort caused by the ongoing mental and physical abuse from the stepmother. The stepmother did not apologize for the wrongs she had committed against the children; instead, she indignantly claimed she was wronged. Meanwhile, the busy father boasted to colleagues and friends, saying, "The children's mother is back home, and being together with the children is truly harmonious and wonderful."

While the father may want to live comfortably, how should we interpret the presence of the stepmother who, from the children’s pure perspective, returns home without a word of reflection or apology and continues to repeat past wrongs, causing the children to live in fear? Must the children live by convincing themselves with self-hypnosis that, although the stepmother does not say it aloud, her return itself implies remorse and thus an apology must have been made?

At the end of 1995, former presidents Jeon Du-hwan and Roh Tae-woo were arrested on charges including the December 12 military coup and the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement-related rebellion. They were sentenced to death and life imprisonment respectively in the first trial. However, two years later, in April 1997, the Supreme Court reduced the sentences to 12 months imprisonment for Roh Tae-woo and life imprisonment for Jeon Du-hwan, finalizing the sentences. Soon after, within a few months, calls began to pardon them. During the 15th presidential election in December 1997, there were arguments that ‘leniency towards the two former presidents was necessary.’ All three candidates at the time?Kim Dae-jung, Lee Hoi-chang, and Lee In-je?pledged to pardon Jeon Du-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, claiming that their pardon was ‘inevitable for national unity,’ and indeed, the pardon was swiftly granted.

However, neither at the time of the pardon nor afterward did Jeon Du-hwan and Roh Tae-woo ever express remorse by saying, ‘We committed a military rebellion and indiscriminately fired on citizens during the Gwangju Democratization Movement, staging a coup d’?tat for rebellion purposes, and embezzled and breached trust involving enormous sums of money; we apologize to the people and sincerely repent.’ Only recently, Roh Tae-woo’s son visited the Gwangju cemetery to pay respects and reflect on the past on his behalf. Particularly, Jeon Du-hwan has continued to distort his criminal acts in his memoirs and defame related parties, showing no sign of remorse. Meanwhile, their followers continue to disrupt the order of the Republic of Korea.

Now, as sentences have been finalized for former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, the same controversy has arisen again. But the essence lies in whether there is a ‘genuine apology and reflection to the people.’ A pardon without sincere apology and reflection is nothing but a mirage, and it distances itself from the ‘great unity’ they claim to pursue.

No Young-hee, Attorney at Law, Gangnam Law Firm (Limited)

Former Spokesperson of the Korean Bar Association