Sim Sang-jung: "If Lee Jae-yong is Paroled, It Means Granting Immunity for the National Affairs Manipulation"

Sim Sang-jung, Justice Party member. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As the decision on the parole of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong is set to be made on the 9th, Sim Sang-jung, a member of the Justice Party, warned, "If Vice Chairman Lee is paroled, it would mean that the Moon Jae-in administration is giving a pardon to the Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil state corruption scandal."

In a post on her Facebook the day before, Rep. Sim said, "Vice Chairman Lee is involved in the state corruption scandal where 8.6 billion KRW in bribes were given to former President Park Geun-hye."

She pointed out, "The countdown for Vice Chairman Lee's 'August 15 parole' has begun. Once again, Samsung and its controlling family have become the recipients of special favors. The place of these favors is inevitably filled with strong suspicions of various allegations."

Rep. Sim stated, "In March of this year, the Ministry of Justice changed the criteria so that parole could be granted after serving about 60% of the sentence instead of the previous 80%," and added, "despite ongoing trials for two crimes including Samsung BioLogics' accounting fraud and illegal succession of management rights, Vice Chairman Lee was placed on the parole candidate list."

She continued, "there are also criticisms that the Seoul Detention Center violated the Ministry of Justice's parole guidelines, which state that 'in cases where investigations or trials are ongoing, opinions from related institutions such as courts and prosecutors must be consulted and reflected in the preliminary review.'

Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics. [Photo by Yonhap News]

She said, "All these suspicions are enough to raise doubts that Vice Chairman Lee's parole was politically decided in advance," adding, "because we remember that since this spring, the Blue House, government, and ruling party have openly led the campaign to save Lee Jae-yong."

Rep. Sim also said, "The Parole Review Committee must dispel these numerous suspicions and concerns through strict and fair examination," and warned, "If the committee decides to grant parole, it will immediately affect the administrative lawsuit on Samsung BioLogics' accounting fraud and the trial on illegal succession of management rights scheduled for the end of August, leading to controversies over fairness."

She continued, "Conversely, if Vice Chairman Lee is punished again in other ongoing lawsuits and trials, it will prove that this parole decision was political," and criticized, "Ultimately, the committee's parole decision will cause public distrust in the judicial system and become another state corruption scandal that undermines national discipline."

Finally, she emphasized, "The committee must firmly resist political pressure and make a decision that restores national discipline," and urged, "I hope the public remembers why they held candlelight vigils."

Meanwhile, Vice Chairman Lee was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison and detained in court in January during the retrial of the state corruption scandal.

The Ministry of Justice has conducted preliminary parole reviews for inmates with sentence completion rates between 55% and 95%, but since last month, it lowered the threshold by 5%, allowing those who have served 50% of their sentence to undergo preliminary review. As of the end of last month, Vice Chairman Lee had served 60% of his sentence and was classified as a model prisoner, reportedly passing the preliminary review smoothly.

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