[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] It has been confirmed that the Ministry of Justice’s Pardon Review Committee included former President Lee Myung-bak and former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo in the special pardon list to be carried out at the end of this year.
According to political and legal circles, the Pardon Review Committee held a meeting at 10 a.m. on the 23rd at the Ministry of Justice Gwacheon Government Complex to review the candidates for the year-end special pardon and made this decision.
Former President Lee was included in the pardon and reinstatement list, while former Governor Kim was included in the pardon list without reinstatement. Former President Lee was sentenced to 17 years in prison by the Supreme Court in October 2020 on charges including embezzlement and bribery. His sentence is currently suspended due to health reasons. If the pardon is finalized, the remaining approximately 15 years of his sentence will be waived.
Former Governor Kim is serving a two-year prison sentence confirmed by the Supreme Court in July last year for the 'Druking comment manipulation case.' His sentence is set to expire in May next year. Since Kim’s pardon only waives the remaining sentence, his eligibility to run for office will be restricted until May 2028.
Earlier, former Governor Kim expressed his refusal to accept the pardon through Democratic Party lawmaker Ki Dong-min, stating that he would not be a "stooge" for MB (former President Lee Myung-bak)’s pardon. However, the review committee reportedly decided to include Kim, a representative pro-Moon Jae-in politician, in the pardon list in the interest of national unity.
Former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance Choi Kyung-hwan, who was sentenced to five years in prison in July 2019 for receiving bribes from the National Intelligence Service’s special activity funds during the Park Geun-hye administration, was also included in the pardon list.
Along with this, former National Intelligence Service Directors Nam Jae-joon, Lee Byung-ki, and Lee Byung-ho, who were convicted for delivering special activity funds to former President Park, are also expected to be pardoned. Nam Jae-joon was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months, Lee Byung-ki to 3 years, and Lee Byung-ho to 3 years and 6 months in prison last July for delivering 600 million KRW, 800 million KRW, and 2.1 billion KRW respectively during their tenure as NIS directors.
Former NIS Director Won Sei-hoon, who was sentenced to a total of 14 years and 2 months in prison for various political operations during his tenure, was also included in the pardon list.
Additionally, former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Jeon Byung-heon was included in the pardon list. Jeon was convicted last March of bribery and violation of the Political Funds Act, receiving a one-year prison sentence with two years probation, and eight months prison sentence with two years probation for embezzlement during his time as a member of the National Assembly, where he was accused of having large corporations donate or sponsor the eSports Association.
Business figures who had hoped for a pardon, such as Lee Joong-geun, chairman of Booyoung Group; Lee Ho-jin, former chairman of Taekwang Group; Park Chan-gu, chairman of Kumho Petrochemical Group; and Choi Ji-sung, former head of Samsung Electronics’ Future Strategy Office, were not included in this pardon list.
Since the Liberation Day special pardon, the first under President Yoon Suk-yeol’s administration, focused heavily on 'economic revitalization' by pardoning many businesspeople, it is said that this year-end special pardon largely excluded them.
Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon is scheduled to report the pardon and reinstatement list decided on this day to President Yoon Suk-yeol, who holds the pardon authority, soon. Since pardoning is the president’s exclusive right, the final list and results may differ somewhat from the committee’s decision depending on President Yoon’s political judgment.
President Yoon is expected to preside over a Cabinet meeting on the 27th to finalize the list and carry out the pardon effective on the 28th.
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