Former President Lee Myung-bak Temporarily Released...Prosecutors Decide on 3-Month Suspension of Sentence Execution (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Former President Lee Myung-bak (81), currently serving time at Anyang Prison in Gyeonggi Province, will be temporarily released.

The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office decided on the 28th to suspend the execution of Lee's sentence for three months. Accordingly, Lee, who was sentenced to 17 years in prison for embezzlement and bribery, will be temporarily released after serving one year and seven months. On the same day, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office held a sentence suspension review committee meeting and accepted Lee's application for suspension of sentence execution. The committee reportedly concluded that "considering Lee's health condition, there is a concern that executing the sentence would significantly harm his health." Lee's side submitted the application for suspension of sentence execution in March due to health reasons.

Under our Criminal Procedure Act, there are seven grounds for suspending the execution of a prison sentence, including when there is a concern that executing the sentence would significantly harm health or threaten life, when the person is aged 70 or older, when pregnant for more than six months, or when there is no one to protect elderly direct ascendants or young direct descendants.

Legal circles predict that this suspension of sentence execution will ignite discussions on a special pardon ahead of Liberation Day on August 15. The main reason is that Lee has repeatedly been hospitalized and discharged due to diabetes and bronchitis. In December 2020, while detained at Seoul Eastern Detention Center, he also applied for suspension of sentence execution citing concerns over COVID-19 infection, but it was denied. Unlike former President Park Geun-hye, Lee was excluded from the New Year's special pardon list.

On the 9th, President Yoon Suk-yeol, while arriving at the Yongsan Presidential Office, remarked about Lee, "Serving 20 years in prison doesn't seem appropriate," and added, "The decision on pardon will be made based on precedent," which also adds momentum to the special pardon discussion.

Lee was arrested in March 2018 during a prosecution investigation on charges of embezzlement and bribery but was released on bail in March 2019. He continued his trial while out of custody until February 2020, when he was re-arrested following a 17-year prison sentence in the second trial. However, he appealed the bail cancellation decision and was released again after six days. In October 2020, the Supreme Court confirmed the 17-year prison sentence and a fine of 13 billion won. On November 2 of the same year, he was detained at Seoul Eastern Detention Center and was transferred to Anyang Prison after a COVID-19 outbreak occurred in the correctional facility.