Three Days Left Until Lee Jae-yong's Fateful Day... Will He Be Released on the 13th?

Parole Review Board Meeting on the 9th... Vice Chairman Lee Likely Eligible for Parole

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The decision on whether Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong will be granted parole will be made after the weekend. With the relaxation of the selection criteria for parole preliminary review candidates and a shift toward a favorable public opinion, Lee's parole appears highly likely. If Lee is selected as a parolee for Liberation Day, he will be released on the morning of the 13th, two days before Liberation Day.

According to the legal community on the 6th, the Ministry of Justice will hold a parole review committee meeting at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the 9th. The parole review committee members have already been informed of the schedule, and each member plans to conduct additional review of the preliminary assessment materials over the weekend.

On the day of the review, the committee members will collectively examine the list of parole candidates and decide by majority vote on eligibility, considering the risk of recidivism, motives for the crime, and social legal sentiments. The committee consists of eight members: three internal members including Kang Seong-guk, Vice Minister of Justice and chairperson; Gu Ja-hyun, Director of the Prosecution Bureau; and Yoo Byung-cheol, Director of the Correction Headquarters; and five external members including Yoon Kang-yeol, Presiding Judge of the Seoul High Court; Kim Yong-jin, lawyer at the Korea Legal Aid Corporation; Hong Seung-hee, professor at Wonkwang University Law School; Baek Yong-mae, professor of psychology at Catholic University; and Cho Yoon-oh, professor at Dongguk University Police and Judicial College.

Lee's eligibility for parole has already been established. In January this year, Lee was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison in the retrial of the state affairs manipulation case and was detained in court. Having served a significant portion of his sentence during the first trial, he fulfilled the parole requirement by completing 60% of his sentence at the end of last month. This was possible due to the Ministry of Justice's relaxation of the parole eligibility requirement from 80% to 60% in April.

There were expectations that parole might be difficult for Lee due to ongoing investigations and trials. However, the Ministry of Justice has already completed opinion inquiries regarding parole preliminary review candidates who are undergoing additional trials. According to the Ministry of Justice's "Parole Work Guidelines," investigations and trials of preliminary review candidates are reflected in the preliminary review after consulting related institutions such as courts and prosecution.

At the review committee meeting on the 9th, opinions from these institutions and petitions related to Lee's parole submitted to the Ministry of Justice will also be considered as reference materials. So far, business circles and civic groups have submitted petitions both supporting and opposing parole to the Ministry of Justice.

If the committee reviews the scale and candidates for Liberation Day parole and decides on eligibility for some candidates, the final approval will be made by Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye. Earlier, Minister Park stated, "Expanding parole has been a policy emphasized since the beginning of my tenure, and I hope the review committee will discuss broadly and deeply with specific criteria such as individual correctional performance, COVID-19, and social legal sentiments."

However, pardon, which has been mentioned in some quarters, is unlikely. Minister Park also drew a line, saying, "For the special pardon on August 15 (Liberation Day) to be possible, the committee must be convened, but it is vacation season and COVID-19 is serious, so it is not feasible time-wise." From the president's standpoint, pardon also carries considerable political burden. Meanwhile, the business community has been requesting a pardon measure to nullify the effect of the guilty verdict so that Lee can conduct smooth corporate activities.