Park Beom-gye on 'Lee Jae-yong's Parole': "Results Will Be Disclosed Immediately... Position Will Also Be Announced"

Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Regarding the parole review of Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye stated, "We will inform you of the results immediately," adding, "I will also share my position at that time."

On the morning of the 9th, Minister Park, upon arriving at the Ministry of Justice Government Gwacheon Office, responded to reporters' questions about the prospects of the parole review results by saying, "I am determined not to even mention the word 'parole' as I come to work."

The Ministry of Justice will hold a closed parole review committee meeting at 2 p.m. at the Ministry of Justice Government Gwacheon Office to discuss the eligibility of the candidates. If the parole review committee votes and approves the agenda, Minister Park will give the final approval.

Vice Chairman Lee, who was sentenced to 2 years and 6 months in prison and detained in court during the retrial of the state affairs manipulation case in January, had completed 60% of his sentence as of the end of last month. He was also classified as a model prisoner and passed the preliminary parole review at Seoul Detention Center. The Ministry of Justice relaxed the parole eligibility requirement from 80% to 60% of the sentence served in April.

Meanwhile, Minister Park urged the Korean Bar Association (KBA) to adopt a more progressive attitude regarding the conflict between the KBA and the legal service platform "Rotok." He said, "The Ministry of Justice is not taking no action because it has no position," adding, "We are waiting with a cooling-off period, hoping for thoughtful, public-interest-oriented conduct."

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