Justice Party "Strongly Oppose the Pardon of Lee Myung-bak and Lee Jae-yong"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Joo-yeon] The Justice Party has clearly opposed the demand for pardons for former President Lee Myung-bak and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

On the 26th, Lee Dong-young, the chief spokesperson of the Justice Party, stated at a briefing at the National Assembly Communication Office, "The Justice Party firmly opposes the pardon of 'Lee Myung-bak and Lee Jae-yong,' which represents a regression to a 'privileged state where only ten thousand people are equal before the law,' rather than a 'rule of law state where all people are equal before the law.'

Lee said, "Yesterday, President Moon Jae-in, during a press conference, opened the possibility of pardons by saying that the criterion for pardoning 'Lee Myung-bak and Lee Jae-yong' during his term is 'whether there is public support and consensus' and that he is 'monitoring public opinion.' This is a carbon copy of when he mentioned 'public consensus and opinion' during the pardon of Park Geun-hye last year," criticizing the stance.

He added, "Following last August's 'Lee Jae-yong parole,' last year's 'Park Geun-hye pardon,' and now moving towards 'Lee Jae-yong and Lee Myung-bak pardons' is a predetermined sequence," and expressed "serious concerns about the demand for pardons that undermine judicial justice, firmly stating strong opposition."

Lee pointed out, "If pardons are decided based on public opinion polls that change moment by moment depending on the situation, it trivializes democracy and the rule of law and is an irresponsible attitude that disregards the authority entrusted by the people."

He also criticized, "At the end of last year, the Blue House stated that the public sentiment and situation were different regarding the 'Park Geun-hye pardon' and the 'Lee Myung-bak pardon,' who is detained on charges of bribery and embezzlement, yet now reintroducing the pardon argument by mentioning 'public sentiment and consensus' again is self-contradictory and deceives the public," emphasizing that "the pardon power is the president's inherent authority, but it is also a power entrusted by the people."

Lee added, "I hope that President Moon Jae-in, who said he would 'restrict the pardon power for five major serious corruption crimes such as bribery, breach of trust, and embezzlement,' will not repeatedly break his promise until the end."