Unprecedented Pre-Election Pardon, Timing Controversy Inevitable

Controversies Over Pardons at the End of Presidential Terms, but Minimal Impact on Elections

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] President Moon Jae-in's recent pardon decision is completely different in nature from the pardons carried out by previous presidents at the end of their terms. All former presidents in history caused various controversies through pardons at the end of their terms. Just before leaving office, they released their close aides or made decisions on pardons for politicians and businesspeople, repeatedly dividing society into supporters and opponents.

However, there was a common feature of minimizing political controversy that could affect the 'presidential election.' Since Christmas or Lunar New Year fell after the previous presidential election dates, the controversy over the political impact was naturally avoided. Therefore, controversies over pardons at the end of terms mainly focused on the 'individuals' included or excluded from the pardon.

But this time, the situation is completely different. It is impossible to overlook the impact that the Christmas pardon will have on the election to be held in March next year. In other words, if President Moon had only considered national unity or the health condition of former presidents, he could have expressed a positive intention to review the pardon and then sought various alternatives, including consulting with the next president before actual implementation.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Even if President Moon had directly carried out the pardon, choosing the period between March and May before the inauguration of the next president could have minimized controversy. Although there was another option of suspension of sentence execution, President Moon ultimately chose the method with the greatest impact on the presidential election.

Um Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, stated, "The responsibility debate surrounding former President Park's deteriorating health must have been a burden," but also diagnosed, "Political intervention controversy over the timing of the pardon is inevitable."

Given that Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is from Andong, Gyeongbuk, and former President Park is also from Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK), this means that regardless of the Blue House's political intentions, the choice inevitably affects the presidential election.

On the other hand, in the case of former President Kim Young-sam, who pardoned former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, it was done after the 1997 presidential election in a manner accepted by the elected Kim Dae-jung. Although the proposal was made by the incumbent president, it was carried out reflecting the intentions of the incoming president-elect.

President Roh Moo-hyun also pardoned business leaders and politicians in December 2007, two months before leaving office, but the timing was after the presidential election.

In the case of President Lee Myung-bak, controversy arose in January 2013 when he included his close aide, former Broadcasting and Communications Commission Chairman Choi Si-jung, among the pardon recipients. However, that pardon was carried out after the December 2012 presidential election and before the inauguration of the new president (Park Geun-hye) in February 2013, so it did not affect the election.

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