President Yoon Seok-yeol said today (9th) regarding the special pardon for former President Lee Myung-bak (MB), "Isn't it right to have me spend twenty years in prison? In light of the past precedent."



On the way to the Yongsan government building this morning, President Yoon answered the reporter's question, 'Is it still valid to say that MB pardon was necessary during the presidential election?'



This is interpreted as a further step from President Yoon meeting reporters on the way to work yesterday and refraining from saying, "It is not a matter to discuss now."



Former President Lee, who is incarcerated, recently applied for a suspension of execution on the grounds of worsening health, and some observe that President Yoon could be pardoned on the occasion of the 8/15 Liberation Day regardless of whether the correctional authorities decide to suspend the execution of the sentence.



In an interview with Yonhap News in November last year, when President Yoon was a presidential candidate, he said, "It's time to go home" when asked about the pardon of former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye.



He added, "I will pursue this in the early days of my administration and ask for the opinions of the people, and if it does not work, I will try to persuade the people."



(Photo = Yonhap News)