Lee Jae-myung on MB and Park Pardons: "Premature Timing"... Apologizes for "Undermining Expectations of Fairness" in Cho Kuk Scandal

Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye Pardon "No Remorse, No Reflection, No Apology to the People... Premature"
On Open Democratic Party Merger "Originally Same Root... Merging Is Right"
Cho Kuk Incident, "Must Admit Stronger Criticism with Greater Responsibility"
"Undermining Fairness Expectations, Inexcusable Mistake... Sincere Apology"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 2nd, Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that the pardon of former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye is "premature."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, at a Broadcasting Reporters' Club debate held at the Korea Broadcasting Center, Lee expressed opposition to the pardon of former presidents, saying, "It is premature to talk about pardons in a situation where there is no remorse, no reflection, and no apology to the people."

Lee said, "The goals of criminal punishment are various, including retribution, general deterrence, and preventing others from committing such acts again," adding, "If these three goals can be achieved, then a pardon or anything else can be considered."

While supporting the merger with the Open Democratic Party, Lee bowed his head regarding the former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk incident.

When asked, "There are concerns that many people in the Open Democratic Party have defended former Minister Cho Kuk, and if merged, it could fall back into the 'Cho Kuk swamp.' Do you think the merger will help in the presidential election?" Lee replied, "Rather than seeing it as greatly helpful for the presidential election, I think merging is right because we originally share the same roots."

Regarding the Cho Kuk issue, he began by saying, "The democratic reform camp should be more honest and take responsibility even for small faults," adding, "Because we have advocated such points."

Lee said, "Therefore, the attitude of saying 'it's just a small fault, it's too unfair, why only us?' seems to be a major reason why the public criticizes the Democratic Party."

He emphasized, "So-called 'double standards' are also part of that," and said, "We must take responsibility for mistakes, and especially, the higher the position and the greater the responsibility, the stronger the criticism inevitably becomes." He added, "In an era where fairness is an issue, the Democratic Party has no excuse for damaging and disappointing the public's expectations of fairness."

Lee said, "As the Democratic Party's candidate, since the Democratic Party must become a more people-first party in the future, I would like to once again apologize here for the party's shortcomings."

When asked if this could be accepted as an official apology, he bowed his head and said, "Within the scope of what I can do, I sincerely apologize with a very humble attitude."

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