Political Circles Debate 'Fairness'... Decision on MB and Jeong Gyeong-shim's Suspension of Sentence Execution Soon

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The decision on the temporary release of former President Lee Myung-bak and former Dongyang University professor Jeong Gyeong-sim, both currently serving prison sentences, is expected to be made soon. In the political arena, the ruling and opposition parties are engaged in a fairness debate over whether to grant them a stay of execution, drawing increased attention to the prosecution's decision regarding the two individuals.

First, the extension of former President Lee's stay of execution will be decided on the 23rd. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office plans to hold a review committee meeting on that day regarding Lee's stay of execution. It will be determined whether to extend the three-month stay of execution that was decided on June 26 for an additional period. Former President Lee submitted an application to extend the stay of execution to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Anyang Branch on the 16th, while he was temporarily released, citing health reasons. He is currently staying at his residence in Nonhyeon-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, and is reportedly receiving outpatient treatment. It is said that he has underlying conditions such as diabetes. Former President Lee was sentenced to 17 years in prison and fined 13 billion KRW for charges including bribery and embezzlement.

If former President Lee's stay of execution is extended, some controversy seems inevitable in the political and legal circles. The opposition is demanding the approval of a stay of execution for former professor Jeong Gyeong-sim by comparing it to Lee's temporary release. On the previous day, Rep. Yoon Geon-young of the Democratic Party of Korea and others held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, urging President Yoon Seok-yeol to accept Jeong's application for a stay of execution, stating that "Professor Jeong's physical condition is at a serious level." They particularly compared Lee's stay of execution with Jeong's situation, questioning, "Professor Jeong, who was sentenced to 4 years and was advised to undergo immediate surgery, is denied due to 'lack of specificity,' but what is specific about former President Lee, who was sentenced to 17 years and whose underlying conditions such as diabetes have worsened?" Furthermore, civic groups aligned with the opposition are reportedly planning to hold rallies this weekend to urge the stay of execution for former professor Jeong.

The prosecution is also expected to soon decide whether to release former professor Jeong following former President Lee. Jeong submitted an application for a stay of execution to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 8th, but the review committee date has not yet been set. This is the second time. The legal community anticipates that the review committee will be held as early as the beginning of next week. Jeong first applied for a stay of execution last month on the grounds of a herniated disc, stenosis, and lower limb paralysis, but the Central District Prosecutors' Office rejected it on the 18th of last month. Jeong also requested bail release twice in court, in January 2020 and last January, but both were dismissed due to concerns over evidence tampering. Jeong was sentenced to 4 years in prison for charges related to her children's admission fraud and violations of the Capital Markets Act concerning private equity funds.

Meanwhile, former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, who is serving time for the 'Druking comment manipulation case,' was excluded from parole consideration. Although he was listed for parole review in September at the Ministry of Justice's parole review committee meeting held on the 19th, he was ultimately deemed 'ineligible,' and his release was canceled. Former Governor Kim was sentenced to 2 years in prison for conspiring with 'Druking' Kim Dong-won and his associates to manipulate public opinion. On the other hand, former National Intelligence Service Director Lee Byung-ho and former Minister of Health and Welfare Moon Hyung-pyo were deemed eligible in the parole review and their release was decided.

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