Lee Jae-myung "Park Geun-hye Pardon, Moon Should Understand... Uncertain About Presidential Election Impact"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed that he understands President Moon Jae-in's decision regarding the pardon of former President Park Geun-hye.

In an interview on the morning of the 26th with KBS's 'Sunday Diagnosis Live,' Lee said, "Formally, it may seem like breaking the promise to restrict the pardon rights for corruption offenders," but added, "However, we must understand the unavoidable aspects."

Lee stated, "The president's pardon power requires highly political judgment," and explained, "Situations change, and the will of the people changes, so if we apply past principles or standards as they are when circumstances change, it causes greater confusion."

Along with this, Lee revealed that he struggled over the tone of his message on the day the pardon of former President Park was announced. At that time, he had expressed, "I understand President Moon Jae-in's anguish and respect his difficult decision," and emphasized the need for former President Park's sincere apology.

He emphasized, "My basic stance is that the higher the position, the greater the responsibility," and added, "Regarding the pardons of former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, I believed it was right not to grant them."

He continued, "The president must have made that decision by combining the opinions we present, the voices of the people, and historical responsibilities," and said, "In that situation, I judged that it was inappropriate for us to make any comments."

Lee also shared the surrounding atmosphere. He said, "I have received several text messages saying 'I will leave the party, but I support Lee Jae-myung,'" and added, "There are also people who are disappointed."

Regarding the impact of former President Park's pardon on the presidential election, Lee said, "I don't know. Phenomena always have both crisis factors and opportunities, with mixed advantages and disadvantages. I am not sure whether the pardon of former President Park will work overall to our advantage or disadvantage," and concluded, "What good is it to judge? It is already a done deal."

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