Justice Party on Lee Jae-yong's Parole Review: "An Outrage by the Established Cartel Against the Candlelight Citizens"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] As the parole of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is being discussed, Yeo Young-guk, leader of the Justice Party, criticized on the 5th, calling it "an outrage by the entrenched power cartel against the people who impeached inequality and unfairness with candlelight."

At the executive committee meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Leader Yeo raised her voice, saying, "The parole of Vice Chairman Lee is being pushed forward under the protection of the government and ruling party. Following the People Power Party, which is inherently intertwined with the business community, the government and ruling party have now formed a complete mental union. On top of that, economic newspapers are joining in by raising the so-called Lee Jae-yong role theory."

She pointed out, "The government and ruling party must clearly answer whether this parole review is truly parole or a form of collective leniency. Even if Vice Chairman Lee is paroled, he cannot return to the front lines of management for the next five years under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes."

She continued, "Approving his return to management is essentially equivalent to granting an indirect pardon. The government and ruling party should reveal their true intentions. Is this parole or a pardon?" she questioned.

Leader Yeo also addressed the parole review committee, saying, "This parole review is essentially a re-examination of the Constitutional Court’s impeachment ruling on former President Park Geun-hye and the Supreme Court’s verdict on the state manipulation case. If they decide to parole Vice Chairman Lee, it means denying and overturning the rulings of the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court, effectively paving the way for a pardon of accomplice Park Geun-hye."

She added, "The only way to prevent the return of the state manipulation forces is to deny parole. From 2010 to 2019, among all parolees, less than 0.3% were paroled with less than 70% of their sentence served. Are they going to grant the 0.3% privilege, which most prisoners do not have, solely for Lee Jae-yong’s release?"

She concluded, "If a privilege that most prisoners do not have is even allowed in the parole review, the values of economic democratization, chaebol reform, fairness, and equality will become distant. The damage will be borne by the most vulnerable in our society."