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President Yoon Seok-yeol reinstated Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and pardoned Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin through a special amnesty on Liberation Day.

Politicians including former President Lee Myung-bak and former Gyeongnam governor Kim Kyung-soo were all excluded. 



First news, reporter Hong Young-jae.



<Reporter> The



government announced that it had granted special amnesty to 1,693 people on Liberation Day.



Many business people were involved in the first special amnesty lottery by the Yun Seok-yeol government.



Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, who was sentenced to two years and six months in prison for the National Nongdan case and whose sentence ended last month, was reinstated.



Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Dongkuk Steel Chairman Jang Se-joo, and former STX Group Chairman Kang Deok-soo received special pardons during the probation period.



[Han Dong-hoon/Minister of Justice: We tried to maximize the effect of overcoming the economic crisis by granting opportunities to participate in economic development again through carefully selected amnesty for major business people.]



Former President Lee Myung-bak, who was mentioned as a possibility of amnesty while the sentence was suspended was excluded from amnesty, and former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo was also excluded from the list.



In the labor circle, former chairman of the Public Transport Union of the KCTU and Hur Kwon, a standing vice chairman of the Korean Federation of Trade Unions, were pardoned.



The government explained that the majority of the people suffered economic hardship due to the COVID-19, and that it actively discovered and pardoned small business owners and small business owners.



Mostly, those who did not repay their counterparties due to financial difficulties while running their business were eligible for amnesty.



Prisoners suffering from severe diseases and thieves for their livelihood were listed on this pardon as prisoners of special consideration.



In particular, special reductions and exemptions from administrative sanctions were taken for about 590,000 people who received demerit points, license suspension, or license revocation for violating traffic laws.



In addition, it said that 649 exemplary prisoners were released on parole to help them return to society early.