Park Jumin "Lee Jae-yong's parole... Need to carefully consider whether it will have an effect on Samsung"

"Powerful and influential people... Whether laws are enforced determines the rule of law in a country"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] On the 9th, Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed skepticism about the parole review process for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, saying, "I am doubtful whether Vice Chairman Lee really needs to be released on parole now and return to management."

Park appeared on a radio broadcast that day and argued, "Samsung Electronics' executives and employees are playing good roles, so the company is currently maintaining a solid growth trend."

Regarding competitiveness in the semiconductor business, he said, "Since the semiconductor industry is a national core strategic industry and accounts for 40% of exports, people seem to have concerns about what would happen if Samsung wavers," adding, "However, we need to consider whether Samsung can only remain stable and maintain competitiveness if Vice Chairman Lee manages the company."

On the controversy surrounding Lee's parole or pardon, Park emphasized the rule of law. He stated, "The lack of transparency in our economy and business sectors has been pointed out as an issue in establishing the rule of law," and added, "Whether the law is enforced against the powerful and influential is one of the important indicators to evaluate whether the rule of law is established in a country."

He continued, "Our country has been evaluated as lacking in establishing the rule of law in areas such as abuse of pardon rights," and explained, "For that reason, the current government has set a principle of not granting pardons easily." He then stated, "From this perspective, I believe that parole for Vice Chairman Lee should not be granted as a special favor."

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

In response to the point that two out of three citizens support Vice Chairman Lee's parole according to a public opinion poll, Park said, "That too should be comprehensively considered as a matter of legal sentiment," but added, "We need to carefully consider whether Vice Chairman Lee's parole will have the effect that the public expects for Samsung Electronics."

Meanwhile, on the 9th afternoon, the Ministry of Justice held a closed parole review committee meeting at the Government Complex Gwacheon to discuss the eligibility of candidates.

The review committee deliberates on the final eligibility by considering factors such as ▲ risk of reoffending ▲ correctional performance ▲ motive of the crime, based on the list of candidates selected through preliminary reviews by each correctional facility.

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