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| Justice Minister Park Sang-ki announces the government plan to grant special pardons to minor offenders at the government complex in Seoul in this Dec. 29, 2017. / Korea Times file |
By Park Ji-won
President Moon Jae-in is considering granting special pardons to minor offenders and activists ahead of the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement and the establishment of the government-in-exile on April 11 1919 under Japanese colonial rule.
The Ministry of Justice has already sent documents to district prosecutors' offices asking them to submit a list of possible candidates for the presidential amnesty, officials said Thursday.
The number of people who will be pardoned is not immediately known. But sources say it could be quite many, since the Moon Jae-in government may seek to give amnesty to as many people as possible to celebrate the centennial.
The list may include protesters convicted of illegally protesting against the U.S. deployment of a missile defense system, those convicted of occupying land for a naval base on Jeju Island and people convicted of participating in illegal rallies related to the Sewol ferry disaster.
One of the biggest concerns is that the Moon Jae-in government will grant pardons to Han Sang-kyun, a former leader of the one of the biggest umbrella labor organizations Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, and Lee Seok-ki, a former lawmaker of an extinct progressive party Unified Progressive Party (UPP) convicted of treason.
Calls by so-called liberal organizations have been rising to pardon them since Moon took office while conservative supporters have been insisting President Park Geun-hye be pardoned.
March 1 is one of most important national holidays for South Koreans and the ruling camp has been preparing for the amnesty in a move to hold various events to mark the day. The former governments have been granting pardons on historic days including Aug. 15, the National Liberation Day.
The Moon Jae-in administration granted special pardons to 6,444 people for the first time in December 2017. Most who were pardoned were minor offenders. 1.65 million people who received administrative penalty orders for violating traffic regulations, for example, also got a special commutation from the government.
The president has pledged during the presidential campaign that his government will not allow clemency for those convicted of violating corruption and bribery laws.
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