South Korean Prime Minister says economic figures including Lee Jae-yong have "sufficiently endured punishment" amid pardon requests

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] Prime Minister Han Duck-soo expressed a positive stance on the pardon of key business figures, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, on the 13th.

On the same day, Prime Minister Han attended the monthly forum hosted by the Korea Newspaper and Broadcasting Editors Association at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul. When asked, "If President Yoon Seok-yeol asks for your opinion on the pardon of businesspeople, what would you convey?" he said, "(The pardon) is an executive authority exercised by the President," but added, "If it is judged that (businesspeople) have sufficiently endured a certain level of punishment or difficulties, considering our economy and the general public’s perspective, reviewing it positively would not be inappropriate."

As demands for an August 15 pardon for business figures such as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin grow mainly within the business community, attention is focused on whether Prime Minister Han’s remarks will strengthen the pardon argument.

Prime Minister Han also announced a reform of real estate policies. He stated that excessive government intervention and negative approaches toward landlords are undesirable, and assessed that "it is appropriate to reform (real estate policies) so that both the government and the private sector participate, with a greater emphasis on the role of the private sector."

Regarding regulatory reform, he said, "The reason past regulatory reforms failed was that over time they disappeared from the President’s main concerns," and emphasized, "Since President Yoon has experienced the pain caused by regulations himself, I believe he will push regulatory reform through to the end."

Prime Minister Han emphasized the following as standards for inter-Korean relations: ▲ principled North Korea policy ▲ always open dialogue channels ▲ active humanitarian aid.

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