Why Did a County Governor Appeal for the Pardon of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong?

Busan Gijang County Mayor Oh Gyu-seok, "Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong Should Be Shackled and Sent to Fight in the COVID War"

"To Revive the Economy, We Must Attract Samsung for the 'Industrial Complex' Project, but 'Jangsu' Is in Prison"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] “Please allow us to join the war against COVID-19 by removing the ‘shackles’ of the pardon.”

The head of a basic local government in Busan is drawing attention by appealing for a pardon for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

On the 1st, Oh Gyu-seok, the mayor of Busan’s Gijang County, issued an appeal to President Moon Jae-in urging a pardon for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

In his appeal, Mayor Oh used the metaphor of shackles to describe the pardon for Vice Chairman Lee, asking to be allowed to fight against COVID-19.

The pardon is not about removing shackles but rather putting them on, meaning that as an influential business leader, Lee would work harder not only in the war against COVID-19 but also for the national economy, urging the president’s decisive action.

On January 18, the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 1 sentenced Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong to 2 years and 6 months in prison in the retrial, and Lee was taken into custody in court.

Starting his appeal with “I took up my pen to the president with earnestness,” Mayor Oh emphasized, “Gijang County is investing 319.7 billion won of county funds to establish the Southeast Radiation Medical and Science Industrial Complex, and major national projects such as the export-oriented new research reactor development project, heavy ion accelerator, radioactive isotope fusion research infrastructure, and power semiconductor industrial cluster development are underway.”

He also explained the current issues and long-cherished projects of Gijang County, saying, “I am confident that Gijang County will become a mecca of the future industrial revolution, creating future food industries beyond Gijang County itself and for the Republic of Korea.”

Mayor Oh expressed hope for the president’s decision, stating, “Seventeen hundred thousand Gijang residents are hoping and building Gijang County so that large corporations and strong small and medium enterprises will come here, but the head of a large corporation is imprisoned, so investment decisions cannot be made in Gijang County.”

He added, “The Republic of Korea is fighting not only the quarantine war against COVID-19 but also an economic war. To revive the devastated local economy, aggressive local investments by domestic large corporations including Samsung are urgently needed.”

Mayor Oh said, “In old wars, even commanders who were punished for their faults were allowed to pay their dues after achieving merit. While respecting the court’s judgment on Vice Chairman Lee, I earnestly appeal for a decision of pardon regarding the way he pays for his crimes.”

He concluded, “True 환부작신 (換腐作新, ‘replacing the rotten with the new’) is based on opportunity. I sincerely ask to give Samsung and Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong the chance for 환부작신 and to become the fuse that revives the collapsed local economy.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.