Kim Kyung-soo Targeting Yoon: "National Unity Cannot Be Achieved by Force"

Released Kim Kyung-soo "An Unwanted Gift"
Pardonless Lottery, Limited Political Activities

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] "The people surely understand much better that national unity cannot be achieved through such one-way, forceful methods, even if it is said to be for the sake of unity."

Former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, who was released from Changwon Prison past midnight on the 28th, described the special pardon decision as an "unwanted gift." He was serving a prison sentence after being convicted by the Supreme Court to two years in prison in the so-called Druking comment case, and became a special pardon recipient five months before his full term release.

Kim spoke calmly in front of reporters. He said, "I wanted to come out in the warm spring, but I came out in the cold winter unintentionally" and added, "This pardon is like forcibly receiving a gift I did not want."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim explained, "Since it was an unwanted gift, I cannot even say thank you, and even if I wanted to return it, there was no way to do so. In conclusion, it is an awkward and unfortunate situation for both the giver, the receiver, and those watching."

Although the Yoon Suk-yeol administration announced the New Year's special pardon as part of national unity, the reaction of key opposition pardon recipients was different. Kim became a special pardon recipient without reinstatement, which means he faces restrictions on political activities including running for office until May 2028.

Kim said, "An important role of politics is to mediate and ease conflicts and to create social consensus through dialogue and compromise. In that regard, regardless of the truth of my case, I reflected on whether the conflicts and divisions deepened over the years because of me as I came this far."

Kim added, "As a politician, I sincerely apologize to the people for not fulfilling my fundamental role," and pledged, "I will reflect and strive with a humbler attitude so that the time I spent in introspection becomes fertilizer for our society to create a warmer society through dialogue, compromise, and social consensus."

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