Yoon Gun-young: "Lee Jae-yong's Parole Is Considerable... We Should Even Consider Boycotting the Japan Olympics"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, referred to the pardon of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong as "(parole is) a possible scenario under consideration." Yoon previously served as the head of the Office for Government Policy Coordination under President Moon Jae-in.

Yoon appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and commented on President Moon Jae-in's remarks the previous day regarding Lee's pardon, saying, "There are principles regarding the pardon that the president mentioned, right? There needs to be a national consensus, and I think this is a process of confirming those parts." He added, "Rather than having made a concrete decision, it is a process of meeting with various people from different fields and listening to their opinions."

He continued, "I have met with representatives from the business community, and they have requested the pardon. I think it is possible to convey that much. I believe they are seriously considering it."

Yoon expressed a negative stance on the pardon. He said, "Considering the difficulties in the semiconductor industry and the challenges our economy is facing now, there is some validity to those raising the necessity. However, our society has a chronic problem of 'justice for the rich,' where people with money get away with crimes. I personally think there needs to be a warning about that. Something needs to be shown in that regard."

However, when the host mentioned the possibility of parole, he said, "That is a legal matter, and if the criteria are met," adding, "That is a different area of judgment." Then Yoon said, "It is one of the possible scenarios under consideration," and "Any citizen of the Republic of Korea becomes eligible for parole after the legally prescribed period, and it can be decided based on review. That is how I see it."

Regarding the Tokyo Olympic website map showing Dokdo as Japanese territory along the torch relay route, he criticized, "Japan's attitude is truly difficult to understand. Both Japan and the IOC have problems. Japan treated us with malice despite our goodwill."

Yoon said, "We offered a handshake, but they drew a dagger instead. During the Pyeongchang Olympics, we deleted the part about Dokdo from the unified flag due to requests from the Japanese government and IOC recommendations. Because Dokdo is obviously our territory. But we accepted it for the sake of the Olympic spirit and world peace. Now, the Japanese government's behavior is that of a complete third-rate country."

He added, "I think it damages the Olympic spirit itself, and considering the athletes' efforts and sweat, it is a very difficult decision, but the government has reached a situation where it must firmly consider even an Olympic boycott. This is an issue that cannot be overlooked."

He continued, "There are things we can back down on and things we must not. This is a territorial issue. Japan's behavior is extremely bad. It needs to be dealt with sternly."

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