August 15 Special Amnesty Likely Focused on Businesspeople... Clemency Review Committee to Convene Today

Ministry of Justice Holds Pardon Review Committee Meeting to Examine Candidates for Special Pardons and Restoration of Rights
Figures Involved in 'State Affairs Manipulation' Including Ahn Jong-beom and Choi Ji-sung Mentioned as Pardon Candidates

Preliminary screening for the special pardon candidates for the August 15 Liberation Day is scheduled for the 9th, drawing attention to the individuals likely to be included in this pardon. In the legal community, it is expected that former Samsung Electronics Future Strategy Office Chief Choi Ji-sung and former Blue House Policy Coordination Secretary Ahn Jong-beom will be named among the Liberation Day special pardon recipients.

Top left: Choi Ji-sung, former head of Samsung Electronics Future Strategy Office; top right: Jang Chung-gi, former deputy head of Samsung Electronics Future Strategy Office; bottom left: Lee Joong-geun, former chairman of Booyoung Group; bottom right: Park Chan-gu, honorary chairman of Kumho Petrochemical Group
[Photo by Asia Economy DB]

The Ministry of Justice will hold a pardon review committee meeting at the Government Complex Gwacheon on the same day to review candidates for the Liberation Day special pardon and reinstatement requests. The review committee consists of nine members: Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon as chairman, Deputy Minister of Justice Ino Gong, Director of the Prosecutor's Office Shin Ja-yong, Chief of the Public Trial Department at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Kim Sun-hwa as ex officio members, and five appointed members including professors and lawyers. After the pardon review committee selects candidates for special pardon and reinstatement and reports to President Yoon Seok-yeol, who holds the pardon authority, the final pardon and reinstatement recipients will be decided through a Cabinet meeting resolution. If President Yoon grants the Liberation Day special pardon, it will be his third exercise of pardon authority since taking office.

Inside and outside the legal circles, it is anticipated that this special pardon will mainly target businesspeople. In this year's New Year's pardon, politicians and officials such as former President Lee Myung-bak, former Presidential Chief of Staff Kim Ki-choon involved in the Park Geun-hye administration's 'state manipulation' scandal, former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Cho Yoon-sun, former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo, and former Deputy Prime Minister for the Economy Choi Kyung-hwan were largely pardoned and reinstated, strengthening the analysis that the Liberation Day special pardon will focus on business figures.

Among business figures, former Chief Choi, former Deputy Head Jang Chung-gi of Samsung Electronics Future Strategy Office, Park Chan-gu, Honorary Chairman of Kumho Petrochemical Group, former Chairman Lee Ho-jin of Taekwang Group, and former Chairman Lee Jung-geun of Booyoung Group are mentioned as potential pardon recipients. They have either completed their sentences or are already on parole, and although their sentence completion is imminent, they cannot return to management positions unless pardoned and reinstated due to employment restriction regulations.

Additionally, in the political sphere, former Secretary Ahn, who was involved in the state manipulation scandal but was excluded at the last minute from the New Year's pardon, and former Second Vice Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jong are also mentioned as possible pardon candidates. Former Secretary Ahn was sentenced to four years in prison for coercing large corporations to contribute substantial amounts to the Mir and K-Sports Foundations, and former Vice Minister Kim was sentenced to two years for pressuring Samsung Group to sponsor the Winter Sports Talent Center. The pardon of former National Pension Service Fund Management Headquarters Director Hong Wan-seon, who was sentenced to two years and six months for pressuring the National Pension Service to approve the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, causing significant losses to the pension fund, is also considered highly likely.

Within the ruling party, there is speculation that former Seoul Gangseo District Mayor Kim Tae-woo, who was indicted for leaking secrets obtained while working in the special inspection team of the Presidential Office under the Moon Jae-in administration and lost his mayoral position, will be included in the pardon list. In the opposition party, there are suggestions of a possible pardon for former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's wife, former Dongyang University Professor Jung Kyung-shim, who was sentenced to four years in prison by the Supreme Court for her involvement in her children's school admission fraud, but the legal community views this as unlikely. Professor Jung is scheduled to be released in June 2024 upon completion of her sentence.

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