People Power Party: "Lee Jaemyung Administration's First Pardon Signals an Era Dominated by Criminals"

The People Power Party criticized the inclusion of former lawmaker Yoon Mihyang in the list of those to be granted a special pardon for the August 15 Liberation Day, saying, "This is no different from removing Yi Wanyong from the list of pro-Japanese collaborators."

Chief spokesperson Park Sunghoon stated in a commentary on the 9th, "The first pardon by the Lee Jaemyung administration is becoming a starting signal for an era dominated by criminals," expressing this view.

Former leader of the National Innovation Party, Cho Kuk, is heading to Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, on the morning of the 16th. Photo by Yonhap News

He said, "The pardon of former leader Cho Kuk and his wife, who destroyed the value of fairness in our society and caused young people to feel a sense of relative deprivation and frustration, is tantamount to declaring South Korea a 'caste-based society.' He added, "Cho Kuk was the main figure who revived a modern version of the Eumseo system, angering the public."

He continued, "The pardon of Yoon Mihyang, who betrayed the comfort women grandmothers, is no different from proposing to remove Yi Wanyong from the list of pro-Japanese collaborators," and pointed out, "If she is pardoned on the 80th anniversary of Liberation Day, the patriotic martyrs who sacrificed themselves for independence would weep in grief."

Chief spokesperson Park said, "Liberation Day, which honors patriotic martyrs and independence fighters, must not be turned into a day that grants absolution to vicious criminals," and added, "The president's power of pardon must not become a tool for protecting his own people or shielding corrupt forces."

He added, "The People Power Party cannot accept the pardon of any corrupt politician," and stated, "We will establish institutional measures to ensure that such a 'pardon festival for criminals' never happens again."

It is reported that former leader Cho Kuk and former lawmaker Yoon Mihyang have been selected as candidates for special pardon and reinstatement in the Liberation Day special pardon by the Ministry of Justice's pardon review committee. This list is also said to include former lawmaker Jung Chanmin and former lawmaker Hong Moonjong, as well as others, with Jung Chanmin being spotted seeking a petition from Song Eonseok, the emergency committee chair and floor leader of the People Power Party, to Kang Hoonshik, the presidential chief of staff.