Kwon Seong-dong Also Raises August 15 Pardon Proposal... "Businesspeople Need Space to Thrive"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Myunghwan] Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party, expressed a positive opinion on the pardon of businesspeople in relation to the emerging 'August 15 Pardon Theory,' stating, "Since livelihood and economic issues are difficult, I personally think it is necessary to create more active space for businesspeople to operate."

After the floor countermeasure meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the same day, Acting Leader Kwon told reporters, "The reason all previous administrations granted large-scale pardons in their first year in power was for national unity and economic revitalization."

However, Acting Leader Kwon said, "I do not know who the targets are, and I have no intention of recommending that any particular businessperson be pardoned." He added, "The president's pardon authority is an inherent power of the president and is carried out by the president's decision," and "I do not know who will be included in the pardon targets."

He continued, "Speaking generally, all governments in history have conducted large-scale August 15 pardons in their first year in office. This has been done by every president since the current 1987 constitutional system," and "Generally, pardons have been carried out about seven times, and at most about ten times, during one administration."

By citing 'economic revitalization' along with 'national unity' as the purpose of the pardon, Acting Leader Kwon's remarks have drawn attention to the possible inclusion of opposition figures such as former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo.

Earlier, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also expressed a positive stance at the Korea Newspaper Editors Association monthly forum on the 13th, saying, "The pardon of businesspeople is a governing authority power exercised by the president," and "If it is judged that they have sufficiently experienced some level of punishment or hardship, positively considering a pardon would probably not be contrary to the general expectations of our economy or the public."

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