CJ chairman on amnesty list
By Yi Whan-woo
President Park Geun-hye granted special pardons to 4,876 convicts, including CJ Group Chairman Lee Jae-hyun, Friday, on the occasion of the 71st anniversary of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day.
The Park administration finalized the amnesty list during an extraordinary Cabinet meeting presided over by Park at Cheong Wa Dae.
Lee is among the 14 businessmen on the amnesty list.
Other convicted business tycoons who had been widely expected to be on the list were not pardoned. Among them were Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-youn, SK Group Vice Chairman Chey Jae-won and former LIG Nex 1 Vice Chairman Koo Bon-sang.
The government has offered pardons to only a small number of businessmen, considering public grudges about illegal business practices at corporations, particularly family-run conglomerates. Politicians and bureaucrats convicted of corruption and other felony charges were also excluded.
The list included 742 small business owners, 303 farmers, 19 fishermen and other convicts who are to be released from prison. Many of them were convicted of nonviolent, petty crimes related to their livelihood and have served more than two-thirds of their jail terms.
"I hope those getting pardoned will take part in reviving the economy and contribute to making our nation proud," Park said.
The government said it has decided to release Lee after considering his ailing heath and opinions from business lobby groups and religious organizations.
Chairman Lee, 56, was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of embezzlement, tax evasion and breach of trust in 2013. He recently cancelled his appeal to the Supreme Court. Lee has spent most of his term confined to a hospital as he was suffering from Charcot Marie tooth disease, a hereditary neurological disorder, and the side effects of a kidney transplant in 2013.
"We hope Lee's return to his position will have a positive influence on society, the economy and the country," Justice Minister Kim Hyun-woong said.
He stressed that pardons this year were aimed at "alleviating the burden" of ordinary citizens.
"The purpose of the government's leniency is to help small-business owners focus on their living again and that's why the pardon was made in a restrictive manner," he said.
"There were a limited number of tycoons on the pardon list, while politicians, civil servants and those who were convicted of felony crimes were excluded. We hope the government's decision will lay the groundwork in bringing the people together and overcoming the economic crisis," he added.
Meanwhile, Park will also parole 730 inmates who have faithfully observed rules in prison.
The ruling Saenuri Party welcomed the President's decision, saying "It is seen as a message of reconciliation."
Several activist groups described the special pardons as "well-balanced."
"The special pardons have often been controversial because they usually included business tycoons and politicians," a senior official at the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice said. "Lee seems to be the only notable business figure this time and so there will be little dispute over whether privileged people stand above the law."
This is the third time that President Park has granted special pardons since taking office in February 2013.
She offered pardons in 2015 in celebration of the 70th anniversary of Liberation Day and also in January 2014 to mark the Lunar New Year.
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