Pardons for ex-presidents looking unlikely following parole of Samsung heir

Former presidents Lee Myung-bak, left, and Park Geun-hye / Yonhap

Moon remains adamant on not pardoning two predecessors

By Kang Seung-woo

The government's decision to grant parole to Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is reigniting a yearlong issue over whether President Moon Jae-in will pardon his two incarcerated predecessors.

On Monday, the justice ministry announced its plan to release Lee, along with 809 other inmates, on parole, Friday, considering the country's economic situation and the conditions of the global economy amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The Samsung heir was convicted of bribery, embezzlement and perjury charges in connection with conservative former President Park Geun-hye, and sentenced to five years in prison. Park was impeached in December 2016 and removed from office in March 2017. She was convicted on 16 charges related to the abuse of power, corruption, coercion and bribery and sentenced to 25 years behind bars. Conservative former President Lee Myung-bak, Park's predecessor, is also serving a 17-year prison term for embezzlement, bribery and the abuse of power.

However, as the presidential election will be held in less than a year, on March 9, potential candidates from the conservative side, including former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, have floated the idea of pardoning the former presidents as part of efforts to win over conservative voters ― although they are calling it a move for "national unity." Yoon was a member of the special prosecutor's team that investigated the corruption scandal involving Park.

Also, those calling for such moves are claiming that it is the best time to grant presidential amnesty to the former leaders on the occasion of Liberation Day, which falls on this coming Sunday, as other former presidents have used the national holiday to grant parole or special presidential pardons under the pretext of national unity.

However, Cheong Wa Dae has remained firmly against pardoning the jailed two former presidents.

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"We do not have enough time physically at this point to offer a special pardon to them," said a senior official of the presidential office.

During the New Year press conference in January, Moon rejected pardons for the two, stressing the lack of a public consensus.

President Moon Jae-in holding a New Year press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, last Jan. 18. Korea Times file

Indeed, it would be a daunting task for Cheong Wa Dae to push ahead with pardons for Park and Lee.

A recent poll found that more than half Korean citizens, or 56 percent, disapproved of providing amnesty to the disgraced former presidents, while 38 percent supported the idea, but the objection to pardons was greater among supporters of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), with 79 percent being against the idea.

"After Rep. Lee Nak-yon said in early January that he would recommend Moon consider granting amnesty to the two former presidents, he faced strong backlash from DPK supporters, and saw his approval rating decline," a ruling party official said.

"Should Moon grant pardons to the former presidents, approval ratings for the DPK as well as Moon would inevitably drop, which could make it harder for the ruling party to win the upcoming presidential election."

Plus, Moon has never used his authority to grant pardons on the occasion of Liberation Day.

Considering its complexity, many believe that the pardon issue is likely to be passed on to the next administration, raising speculation that the next president-elect could address the issue by including the two former presidents, as well as politicians from the liberal side, such as former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo, in presidential pardons, under the same pretext of national unity. Kim is now in jail for his involvement in an online opinion rigging scheme ahead of the 2017 presidential election.

In the meantime, the decision on the Samsung heir's parole itself drew mixed responses within the political circle.

The conservative opposition side broadly welcomed it, describing it as a significant decision amid the difficult domestic and international economic conditions, and the DPK also issued a statement saying that it would respect the justice ministry's decision.

However, some of the DPK's presidential hopefuls criticized the decision. For example, Rep. Park Yong-jin said, "A preferential parole for a head of a conglomerate is not fair."

The social democratic minor opposition Justice Party also said that the decision was tantamount to the Moon administration declaring that "money is power."

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