Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Moon leaning toward pardon for jailed Samsung chief
President Moon Jae-in speaks before a luncheon with the leaders of Korea's top four conglomerates at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. From left are LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Moon, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam. Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
President recognizes chaebols' role in successful US summit
By Nam Hyun-woo
Expectations are growing over a presidential pardon for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, after President Moon Jae-in commented during a luncheon meeting with leaders of the nation's top four business groups Wednesday that he recognized there was a growing public consensus on granting one.
Moon neither confirmed nor denied the possibility of the pardon, but his remarks about the consensus seemed to indicate that he was leaning toward releasing Korea's top tycoon.
The President stressed such a consensus as one of the preconditions for pardoning Lee during a press conference last month, which was interpreted as neutral rhetoric compared to his earlier dismissals of debate on the issue.
With the acknowledgment of the growing public consensus, there does appear to be a chance that Lee will be able to get back to work before his full jail term ends in July next year. He was imprisoned after being found guilty of bribery in a corruption scandal that led to the impeachment, trial and jailing of former President Park Geun-hye.
Those in attendance at the luncheon were Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, who participated in lieu of Lee.
From left, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun enter the Sangchunjae guesthouse in Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. Yonhap
“During the luncheon, SK Chairman Chey obliquely asked Moon to review the recent request by Korea's business lobby groups, and Moon asked for clarification,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said.
“After confirming the meaning, Moon said he understands hardship and knows that many Koreans agree with the idea. Moon also said he was aware of the facts that the economic situation is developing far differently from the past, and companies are required to take bolder roles.”
In April, five of Korea's leading business organizations, including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, jointly requested Moon to grant a presidential pardon for Lee. The lobby groups have been requesting the pardon because his absence “hampers Samsung companies” from promptly making big investment decisions.
In a January ruling by an appeals court, Lee was sentenced to a two-and-a-half year prison term on the bribery charges. During the appellate procedure, he was jailed for 12 months from February 2017 to February 2018, and has now been serving the remainder of that sentence since January.
“Samsung Vice Chairman Kim said major investment decisions are oftentimes required in the semiconductor industry, and the group leaders' presence is essential for making such decisions promptly,” the Cheong Wa Dae official said. “Another business leader who was also at the luncheon added that the next two to three years were critical in the current time of great uncertainty.”
In January, Moon dismissed similar calls, saying, “It is not a time to talk about Lee's pardon,” but has since been using an increasingly neutral tone on the matter, following the continued calls for the pardon from businesses and politicians, who cited Lee and Samsung's role in the Korean economy.
In last month's press conference, Moon said he recognized there was fierce global competition in the semiconductor industry and the need to improve Korean companies' competitiveness, adding he would decide on a pardon after fully listening to the people.
At the luncheon, Moon praised the leaders for their groups' contribution to expanding the economic partnership between Seoul and Washington, attributing the successful outcome of last month's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden to the companies' plans to invest in America.
“We had a very good outcome after the summit thanks to the support from the four groups,” Moon said. “Korea-U.S. relations have progressed to a comprehensive level encompassing cutting-edge technologies in the semiconductor, battery and electric vehicle (EV) industries, and it is especially meaningful that the U.S. has chosen Korean products as the ones they need most.”
During Moon's visit to the U.S., Korean businesses, including the four conglomerates, announced plans to invest $40 billion there.
Samsung Electronics will spend $17 billion to build a new foundry chip manufacturing plant with the location to be decided on among the states of Texas, New York and Arizona. LG Energy Solution and SK Innovation will invest $14 billion between them to increase their EV battery production capacity in the U.S.; while Hyundai Motor Group plans to spend $7.4 billion to improve the EV charging infrastructure there.
The plans were hailed by Biden, as his administration has been striving to promote U.S. supply chains in these sectors. During a press conference after the summit, Biden praised Korean businessmen, saying the investments will create “jobs of the future” and help “fortify and secure the supply chains for things like semiconductors and electric batteries.”
Moon also noted during the luncheon that “President Biden asked businessmen to stand up for the introduction and I believe this was the highlight of the press conference.”
President Moon Jae-in and his American counterpart Joe Biden applaud Korean business leaders, standing, during a joint press conference at the White House after their summit in Washington, D.C., May 21. Biden asked them to stand up to appreciate the Korean companies' investment in the U.S. Joint Press Corps
Moon said the companies' investments in the U.S. would result in more jobs and opportunities in Korea, defying some concerns that the conglomerates' expansion in the U.S. is being made at the expense of domestic jobs.
Since taking office in 2017, Moon has met business leaders on several occasions or visited their individual plants, but this is the first time that he has invited the heads of the top four chaebol to the presidential office together.
Recently, Moon has been reaching out to domestic businesses in an apparent effort to use Korea's recovery from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity to reverse his low approval ratings. During a meeting with his aides last month, the President said the economy was showing “a strong rebound” and the government would do its utmost to “achieve over 4 percent economic growth this year.”
The Korean economy grew 1.6 percent in the first quarter of 2021, far exceeding the average 0.3 percent of OECD member nations during the same period. Citing this, the Bank of Korea is projecting 4 percent growth for Asia's fourth-largest economy this year; while JP Morgan anticipates 4.6 percent.