The recipients of the 'August 15 Liberation Day Special Amnesty', the first special amnesty of the Yun Seok-Yeol government, will be announced today (12th).
Considering the negative public opinion on the amnesty of politicians, it is expected that a small amnesty and lottery will be made, excluding former President Lee Myung-bak and others, including businessmen such as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.
The government held an ad hoc cabinet meeting at the government complex in Seoul this morning, three days before Liberation Day, and announced the final candidates for the Liberation Day special envoy.
According to precedent, Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is expected to announce the special envoy directly.
Enlarging an image
At first, the political circles predicted that former President Lee, who was temporarily released on a suspended sentence in June, would be included in the list of special envoys for Liberation Day.
However, on the 9th, it was reported that the Ministry of Justice's amnesty review committee excluded former President Lee from the list of special envoys.
At a situation where the negative evaluation of President Yoon's performance of state affairs is close to 70%, it is analyzed that the judgment that the amnesty of politicians with poor public opinion could put a burden on the operation of state affairs, etc.
Former President Lee is also reported to have expressed his position to his close aides, saying, "If the issue of my amnesty openly interferes with (state affairs) stability, I do not need to pardon."
In accordance with this policy of minimizing the amnesty of politicians, former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, who is serving a sentence for 'drunking comment manipulation case', and Choi Kyung-hwan, former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, and Nam Jae-jun and Lee Byung-ki, former head of the NIS , and former Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Byung-hun are also expected to be excluded from the amnesty.
On the other hand, it is expected that large-scale amnesty and lottery will be granted to businessmen to overcome the economic crisis.
Among businessmen, Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, is highly likely to win the lottery.
Enlarging an image
Vice Chairman Lee was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for the 'Gukjeong Nongdan case' and was paroled in August last year.
Although his sentence ended on the 29th of last month, there were many voices in the business world that he needed a lottery ticket for normal business activities as he was subject to the employment restrictions for five years.
It is observed that Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Kumho Petrochemical Chairman Park Chan-gu, and Booyoung Group Chairman Lee Jung-geun may also be included in amnesty to overcome the economic crisis.
However, since the right to amnesty is the constitutional right of the president, there is a possibility that President Yoon, who has the right to amnesty, may change the person eligible for the pardon at the last minute.