"Must Play Role as Semiconductor Commander"... Daegu Mayor Also "Earnestly Requests 'Lee Jae-yong Pardon'"

Mayor Kwon Young-jin of Daegu
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin has joined the call for a pardon of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong.

According to business circles and Daegu City on the 1st, Mayor Kwon said in a congratulatory speech at the 115th anniversary ceremony of the Daegu Chamber of Commerce and Industry held on the 30th of last month, "The semiconductor industry, which is currently the mainstay of our economy, is at a crossroads," adding, "I believe it is more beneficial and right for our country and our people to release Vice Chairman Lee from prison so that he can faithfully play the role of commander in the semiconductor war, rather than keeping him imprisoned and punishing him."

He also said, "I am not asking for unconditional forgiveness of the mistakes of businesspeople," and added, "Since more than 70% of recent public opinion is favorable toward the pardon of Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, I earnestly request the President to make a decision."

Mayor Kwon also expressed gratitude to the late Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee, who decided to pay more than 12 trillion won in inheritance tax and donated artworks, as well as to his bereaved family. He said, "Although the scale of the inheritance is large, I would like to thank the late Chairman Lee Kun-hee and Samsung for honestly paying the inheritance tax and making great contributions and donations," adding, "I also deeply appreciate the fact that 21 extremely rare works by local artists Lee In-sung and Lee Quay-dae have returned to Daegu."

Earlier, among the approximately 23,000 donated works known as the 'Lee Kun-hee Collection,' 21 pieces were returned to the Daegu Art Museum. The donated works consist of pieces by painters native to Daegu. In addition, 5,000 shares (2.5%) of Samsung Lions stock held by Chairman Lee were also donated to Daegu City free of charge.

The recommendation for a pardon of Vice Chairman Lee, which began mainly among economic organizations, is continuing to spread to some local governments, political circles, and religious communities. On the 27th of last month, five economic organizations including the Korea Employers Federation, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business, the Korea International Trade Association, and the Korea Federation of Medium-sized Enterprises submitted a petition to the Blue House requesting a pardon for Vice Chairman Lee. In response, the Blue House drew a line by stating, "There has been no review of a pardon so far, and there are no plans to review it at this time."

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