Park Chan-dae "Pardon for Chaebol Heads Must Be Careful... Should Not Differ from the Standard for Ordinary Citizens"

Economic Groups Petition for Pardon and Restoration of Rights for Business Leaders Including Lee Jae-yong
Park Chan-dae: "The Victims Are the Majority of the People"

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Park Chan-dae, the senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said that "pardons should be cautious when it comes to chaebol heads" in response to some economic organizations' demands for pardons and reinstatements of business leaders.

At the Democratic Party policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 28th, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Park stated, "The Korea Employers Federation has argued that around Buddha's Birthday on May 8, pardons should be granted to 10 heads of conglomerates, including Lee Jae-yong, Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, and Lee Joong-geun, Chairman of Booyoung Group."

He said, "When the same standards are applied, the law gains dignity. The standards applied to ordinary citizens and those applied to chaebol heads should not differ."

Earlier, on the 25th, five economic organizations including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry petitioned the Blue House and the Ministry of Justice for pardons and reinstatements of some business leaders such as Vice Chairman Lee and Chairman Shin.

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Park explained, "The power of pardon is the president's inherent authority, but the power of pardon for economic crimes such as breach of trust should be very limited," adding, "The victims of economic crimes committed by chaebol heads are the general public."

He also pointed out, "Business-oriented economic organizations, represented by the Federation of Korean Industries, have repeatedly claimed pardons for major conglomerate chairmen who committed serious corruption crimes such as bribery, embezzlement, and breach of trust, citing economic crisis theories every time," adding, "The excuse is economic revival and job creation, but it has been the same for decades."

He further stated, "One of the causes of the Korea discount is owner risk," and "Even if a company has grown into a global enterprise, non-transparent management hampers the company’s progress."

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