Kim Boo-kyum Praises Late Lee Kun-hee's Legacy Donation, Says JY Pardon Debate Is Separate

Nominee for Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum Photo by Yonhap News

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] Kim Boo-kyum, the nominee for Prime Minister, on the 29th, highly praised the decision by the family of the late Lee Kun-hee, Chairman of Samsung Electronics, to donate about 60% of the inheritance to society, but drew a clear line by saying it is "separate from the pardon debate for Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, who is currently detained."

On the same day, Kim, while on his way to the Financial Supervisory Service Training Institute in Jongno-gu, Seoul, responded to reporters' questions about whether the decision to donate the inheritance to society would affect the pardon of Lee Jae-yong by saying, "The pardon issue is separate from the inheritance donation," and added, "The person with the authority to grant pardons is the President, so President Moon Jae-in will have to consider various other factors."

He also said, "In any case, I highly appreciate the return of those precious cultural assets to the people," and added, "Since national treasure-level cultural assets are included, I understand that the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Hwang Hee, expressed gratitude yesterday. We are thankful for that."

Meanwhile, regarding the explosive increase in objections following the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's confirmation of official apartment prices through the '2021 Joint Housing Price Announcement' the previous day, he said, "Since housing prices have clearly risen, the official land prices will also increase," and added, "If the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Real Estate gathers opinions on how to handle the public's objections and how to adjust the speed toward the target year for the realization rate of official land prices, the government will review accordingly."

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