South Korea: Justice ministry to review beneficiaries of special pardons for Liberation Day
Seoul: South Korea’s justice ministry on Thursday was set to review a list of people to be granted special pardons on the occasion of Liberation Day next week, with all eyes on whether former minor party leader Cho Kuk will be included.
Cho, who had led the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, is currently serving a two-year prison term after the Supreme Court finalised his sentence in December on charges of academic fraud involving his children and unlawful interference with a government inspection, reports Yonhap news agency.
Whether Cho, who served as a senior aide to former President Moon Jae-in and a justice minister in 2019, would be a possible beneficiary of next week’s special pardons, which would mark the first under President Lee Jae Myung since he took office in June, has been a focus of political blocs and local media in recent weeks.
The ministry’s pardon review committee, headed by Minister Jung Sung-ho, was scheduled to convene at 2 p.m. to review the qualifications of pardon beneficiaries, which will be finalised and announced at a Cabinet meeting next Tuesday.
Moon, the former president, called for Cho’s pardon when he met Woo Sang-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, on Tuesday.
Other high-profile figures who may be considered include Cho Hee-yeon, former superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.
Cho lost his seat as superintendent last year after the Supreme Court upheld a suspended term against him on charges of abuse of power in connection with the reinstatement of dismissed teachers.
Special pardons, which are among the president’s inherent powers, have often been granted to convicted politicians, business executives and other offenders at the start of a new year or around Liberation Day to reward good behaviour and foster national harmony.
It remains unclear, however, whether high-profile politicians will be included in the Lee administration’s first list of special pardons, which may focus on the socially vulnerable.