Economic Circles Push for Lee Jae-yong's Pardon Drive... Public Opinion Also Favors Approval

Clear Shift in Cheongwadae Pardon Atmosphere, Heads of 5 Economic Organizations Repeatedly Submit Proposals
Positive Public Opinion Prevails on 'National Consensus' Condition Set by President Moon

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyewon Kim and Suyeon Woo] The main supporters strongly backing the public opinion and justification for the pardon of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong are the business community and the public. As the atmosphere at the Blue House shifted noticeably toward pardoning Lee following President Moon Jae-in's meeting with the heads of the four major conglomerates, the leaders of the five major economic organizations have been pushing again for the pardon. After Korea Employers Federation Chairman Sohn Kyung-shik took the lead, not only the heads of the five economic organizations but also the major group chairpersons have been actively campaigning for Lee’s pardon. The ruling party, government, and Blue House have also responded moderately, bringing the pardon closer to reality.

On the 3rd, the heads of the five major economic organizations, who met Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum for a courtesy meeting, reportedly naturally proposed Lee’s pardon during the meeting. The business community has been actively shaping public opinion on the pardon since April, when Chairman Sohn first requested a pardon review from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki. On April 27, the five economic organization heads submitted a pardon proposal to the Blue House, and last month, the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea, with about 800 member companies, urged President Moon to pardon Lee. The day before, major group chairpersons, including SK Group Chairman and Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, also specifically mentioned the necessity of the pardon during their meeting with President Moon.

The business community views the Liberation Day on August 15 or the period around the Chuseok holiday in September as the ‘golden time’ for the pardon. If it is delayed until the end of the year, it would be difficult to avoid criticism that political calculations are involved just a few months before the presidential election.

The ‘public consensus’ that President Moon has repeatedly emphasized as a prerequisite for the pardon is widely regarded as having matured. Various opinion polls show strong support for Lee’s pardon. Although negative opinions prevailed immediately after Lee’s imprisonment, public sentiment quickly shifted to a positive stance. This is seen as a result of concerns about the national economy amid crises such as COVID-19 and the recognition of the role of corporations.

According to a public opinion poll conducted by Asia Economy through Win-Gi Korea Consulting from the 29th to 30th of last month targeting 1,045 voters aged 18 and over nationwide, 65% supported the claim that Lee should be pardoned. ‘Oppose’ accounted for 27.8%, and ‘Don’t know’ 7.1%. Notably, more than half of respondents across all age groups supported the pardon. The highest approval rate was among those in their 60s (82.6%), with over half of younger generations such as those in their 30s (57.1%) and 40s (56%) also in favor. Regionally, Daegu-Gyeongbuk (74.1%) and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (70.5%) showed high approval rates, while Seoul (63.9%) and Gyeonggi-Incheon (65.4%) also recorded over 60% support.

On online big data platforms, the favorability toward the keyword ‘Lee Jae-yong pardon’ is also rapidly increasing. According to the Global Big Data Research Institute’s survey of 220,000 sites across 12 online channels including news, communities, blogs, YouTube, and SNS, the positivity rate for posts containing the keyword has risen while negativity has declined. Right after the retrial sentencing in February, the positivity rate was 11.3% and negativity 12.2%, showing slightly more negative opinions, but public opinion reversed from March onward. In May, the positivity rate was 28.1% compared to 8.7% negativity, with positivity outpacing negativity by three times. The increase in the number of online posts mentioning Lee’s pardon also indicates heightened public interest, according to the Global Big Data Research Institute. In February, there were only 451 related posts, but this surged to 12,258 in April and further increased by about 30% to 17,882 in May.