Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye granted the parole of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong yesterday (August 9).
Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for bribing former President Park Geun-hye, had served about 62% of his sentence.
At a press briefing held at the Ministry of Justice building in the government complex in Gwacheon, Minister Park Bum-gye said at a press briefing yesterday at around 6:40 pm,
"In consideration of the national economic situation and the global economy due to the prolonged corona virus, Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong was included in this parole."
"
I
understand that the decision was made by considering various factors such as society's emotions and accepting lifestyle."
He explained the reason for the parole permission.
Present only two prepared answers and end the briefing
Minister Park Bum-gye left the press conference after only reading the announcement prepared in advance. Following this, Justice Ministry Spokesperson Park Hyeon-joo stepped onto the podium to briefly explain two of the most representative questions asked by reporters before the briefing.
Spokesperson Park Hyun-joo first introduced that there was a question about whether there was a case in the past that was under investigation for other cases or was released on parole during the trial. In response, Spokesperson Park Hyeon-joo said, "In 2020, 67 people were released on parole while the additional cases were ongoing." This meant that last year there were 67 more people who were released on parole during investigations or trials in other cases, such as Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
Spokesperson Park Hyun-joo introduced the second, "(like Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong), there was an inquiry about the status of parolees who did not fulfill 70% of their sentence." Regarding this, a spokesperson explained, "In the past three years, there have been 244 persons with less than 70% of the sentence." "This is gradually increasing." Park Hyeon-joo, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice, announced only prepared answers to two questions and ended the briefing without receiving additional questions from reporters.
When I hear that there are 67 people with the same conditions as Vice Chairman Jae-yong Lee as of 2020 and 244 as of the last three years, it feels as if Vice Chairman Jae-yong Lee received similar benefits to other ordinary people. However, there are figures omitted by Spokesperson Park Hyun-joo. It is the proportion of those on parole who have similar conditions to Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong. It can be seen as a 'probability' that a person like Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong will be granted parole.
'1% chance' not mentioned by the Ministry of Justice
Let's start with the explanation that 67 people will be released on parole in 2020 alone, like Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, among inmates whose additional cases are ongoing. The total number of people released on parole in 2020 is 7,876.
For this reason, like Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, even though additional cases are ongoing, the proportion of those on parole is only 0.85% of all paroles. less than 1%.
(Statistics are based on '2021 Correctional Statistical Yearbook')
Let's analyze the second explanation of the Ministry of Justice spokesman, '244 of those inmates who have been paroled with a 70% execution rate in the past three years'. A total of 24,682 people have been released on parole in the last three years (2019-2021). Of these, 244 accounted for 0.98%.
If you look at the number of 244 people, it seems like a small number, but the 'probability' is also less than 1%.
Moreover, there is no doubt that the criteria of 'one year in 2020' or 'the last three years' are the ranges chosen to make the parole of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong as ordinary as possible. It was difficult to find statistics on paroles of persons with additional cases in any year other than 2020, which a Justice Ministry spokesperson mentioned in a briefing. However, if the scope of the analysis is broadened to 'the last 10 years' rather than 'the last 3 years' with respect to the statistics on which inmates with a parole rate of less than 70% were released, the parole rate of those with a sentence rate of less than 70% drops significantly.
Based on the last three years, it is 0.98%,Based on the last 10 years, it is 0.46%.
Even in the most advantageous calculations, less than 1%… Isn't that a 'preferential'?
There is one more thing to consider.
What the Justice Ministry spokesperson said was that Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met both conditions, not just one of the two conditions the Justice Ministry spokesperson said.
In other words, it is a person who has served less than 70% of the sentence and at the same time is being investigated or tried in connection with another case.
The proportion of people who meet both conditions, like Vice Chairman Jae-yong Lee, is bound to be much smaller than 0.85% (as of 2020) or 0.98% (as of 2018-2020), the proportion of those who meet only one of the two conditions.
In conclusion, from the point of view of the execution rate or from the point of view of an inmate whose trial is in progress in another case, even if the statistics are drawn in the most favorable way for Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, the parole of Vice Chairman Lee is considered to be a privilege given to less than 1% of the people. can
.
Those who claim that this is not 'preferential' or are concerned about 'reverse discrimination' are claiming that Jae-Yong Lee is a person who should receive preferential treatment equivalent to 0.01% of the Republic of Korea.
Perhaps because it is logically almost impossible to argue that the parole of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is not preferential, the Ministry of Justice and the Blue House seem to avoid responsibility by saying they did not exercise the substantive decision-making power on the parole.
Minister Park Beom-gye yesterday announced the decision to release Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on the way out of the government building when reporters asked, 'Isn't it a preference? No. It was decided by the judges.”
The decision-making right was actually exercised by the parole judging committee in which an outside member participates, and it is said that he only respected the decision of the judging committee and gave permission.
The Ministry of Justice and the Blue House deferring responsibility… What did President Moon Jae-in say?
If Justice Minister Park Beom-gye is deferring responsibility to the parole review committee, the Blue House is deferring responsibility again to the Ministry of Justice, saying that there was no room for the Blue House to intervene under the law. The Blue House side issued an official position after the parole decision, just as before the parole decision, saying, "It is not appropriate for the Blue House to state its position on what the Ministry of Justice has done in accordance with the procedures." Since the decision on parole is the authority of the Minister of Justice, it is interpreted that the Blue House was not involved in the decision on the parole of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
It is not necessary to explain at length that it is irresponsible for the Minister of Justice, who is legally authorized to grant parole, to shift responsibility for the decision to the parole review committee. Especially considering that 4 out of 9 members of the parole review committee are incumbent high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Justice. However, the Blue House, which refuses to state its position stating that the legal authority for parole rests with the Ministry of Justice, is also not free from criticism of evasion of responsibility. Especially considering the purpose of President Moon Jae-in's public remarks at the National Assembly debate in 2015.
On January 13, 2015, President Moon Jae-in delivered a congratulatory speech at a debate hosted by then-President Ahn Cheol-soo. Not only Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, but also Professor Jang Ha-seong, a professor at Korea University, who served as ambassador to China and head of the Presidential Secretariat under the current government, participated in the event. At this meeting, President Moon Jae-in criticized the words of then-President Park Geun-hye at a press conference the day before regarding the parole of SK Chairman Chey Tae-won. President Moon Jae-in said:
"Yesterday, President Park Geun-hye responded to him by saying, 'Being a chaebol does not give you this kind of preference, but you do not discriminate against it'.
President Moon Jae-in criticized former President Park Geun-hye's remarks at a press conference, saying it was pushing for the parole of the head of a chaebol at the Blue House level.
At the same press conference, former President Park Jae-in said, "It is up to the Ministry of Justice to decide whether to release a businessman on parole."
However, even when the Ministry of Justice selected Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong as a candidate for the parole review, the Moon Jae-in government’s Blue House, which only took a principled position, said, “There is no position to reveal the procedure carried out by the Ministry of Justice.” Is it not meant to be interpreted?
"Haha, isn't it the Blue House's authority?"
In addition, the writings left by legal scholars who have been employed in important positions related to legal administration under the Moon Jae-in government show how far from reality the claim that the Blue House does not exercise substantive authority on the parole of the head of a chaebol is clearly visible.
In-seop Han, a law professor at Seoul National University, who until recently served as the head of the Institute for Criminal Policy and Justice, reacted almost sarcastically to the explanation that the parole of a businessman is the authority of the Ministry of Justice in a Facebook post on December 27, 2014, similar to President Moon Jae-in's remarks at a debate.
'Businessman parole' workshop... The Blue House called “the authority of the Minister of Justice.” Haha, isn't that Blue House authority?
Legally, it may be the authority of the Minister of Justice, but in reality, it is decided according to the will of the President after consultation with the Blue House and the Ministry of Justice.
Don't be fooled by yourself.
To borrow a line from a comedy, "Who do you think is stupid?"
Former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who commented on Han In-seop's post, got another drink.
The businessman's parole made a
mockery of
the phrase "the authority of the justice minister," and he
wrote,
"
I
'm glad I said that it wasn't the authority of the powerful Jindogae (who was living in the Blue House at the time...")
.
Contrary to the claims of the Blue House of the Moon Jae-in administration, the two representative legal scholars who have been used in the current government argued that the actual authority over the parole of the head of the chaebol rests with the Blue House, not the parole review committee, not the Ministry of Justice.
And not a few people still believe that what Han In-seop and Cho Kuk described in 2014 is true.
“It would be against economic justice if we were to receive another favor on parole.”
The decision to release Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong on par is a 'preferential advantage' that can only be returned to less than 1% of people even if statistics are drawn in the most favorable manner for Vice Chairman Lee. The claim that neither the Blue House nor the Justice Minister was actually involved in the parole is not convincing in light of the statements made by President Moon Jae-in in 2015 and by Seoul National University law professors Han In-seop and Cho Kuk in 2014. Rather, it would be an honest attitude to explain that Jae-yong Lee is a special kind of person and that he gave preference to the chaebol by breaking the rules because he needed the special ability of a special person.
However, it would have been difficult for the government, which was born as a result of the 'candlelight revolution', which cut off the political and economic ties between the chaebols and the politicians, to admit that the political power gave preferential treatment to the chaebols. In the end, it seems that they have reached the point of turning away from the irreconcilable conflict between the principles of the past and the present reality. However, the person who made this statement in 2015 knows better than anyone about what meets 'justice'. I end the article by quoting this person's remarks.
“But, as you all know, when the heads of chaebols or conglomerates are like this, the heads or executives of the conglomerates have already been given great consideration from the time the court decides the sentence because of their contribution to the national economy or the share they occupy in the national economy in the future. 'm getting preferential treatment. not so much been sentenced minute almost never until now? no matter how great a crime even if it yet look was willing to release probation
, if there has already been a lot of benefits in sentencing under another budget in the PO that I I think that it is against economic justice,
and at this meeting, I was told that such principles or standards need to be established in the perspective of economic justice so that economic justice in our country can live, businesses and development, and the people can agree together. I'll tell you."
- President Moon Jae-in, from a congratulatory speech at the '40-year long-term recession, Ahn Cheol-soo finding a solution to the Korean economy', January 13, 2015