Gidongmin "MB Pardon Differs from Park... I Don't Know Why It Should Be Granted"

"Lee Myung-bak Pardon a Secondary Issue... Is It Truly National Unity?"

On the 15th, Ki Dong-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared on MBC's "News Outside" and criticized President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol for intending to recommend a pardon for former President Lee Myung-bak.
Photo by MBC News Outside.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] In response to President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's announcement that he would recommend a pardon for former President Lee Myung-bak, Democratic Party lawmaker Ki Dong-min raised his voice, saying, "If you really want to do that, wouldn't it be more appropriate for President-elect Yoon to become president himself and exercise the pardon power?"

On the afternoon of the 15th, Ki appeared on MBC's 'News Outside' and said, "There is a lot of talk about national unity, inclusion, and harmony, but is discussing pardons for certain politicians or businesspeople truly national unity?" He criticized, "A pardon for Lee Myung-bak is a very secondary issue. It also does not align with fairness and common sense."

Ki pointed out that the pardon for the former president is different from that of former President Park Geun-hye. He said, "I don't really know the reason why he should be pardoned. Former President Park had health issues, and I think there was a clearly different approach based on public opinion." He added, "Former President Lee is neither showing remorse nor receiving favorable public evaluation," and said, "I think the possibility of (President-elect Yoon's pardon request being accepted) is negative."

He continued, "It may be a political misunderstanding, but because those close to former President Lee are surrounding President-elect Yoon, the pardon issue seems to be emerging, which does not help President-elect Yoon in any way," he added.

Regarding the backlash against Democratic Party Emergency Response Committee Chairman Yoon Ho-jung, Ki said, "Many lawmakers find it difficult to agree with the fact that a person who was at the center of responsibility for the (presidential election defeat) is serving again as the emergency committee chairman until August, and party members are also raising many issues." He added, "If this is seen as a shocking move based on political faction considerations while the public justification is weak, it is very backward. Therefore, many lawmakers find it hard to accept and raise issues."

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