ED Model case for pardon

The Moon Jae-in administration Friday granted its first special pardon for 6,444 people since its inauguration in May, clearing their criminal records and restoring their civil rights, thus helping them start a new life in the new year.

The special amnesty by the President’s constitutional right was timely and positive in that it was little tainted by political consideration on the whole against the practices of the previous governments.

As Moon pledged in his campaign earlier that he “will not pardon anyone convicted of bribery, embezzlement or negligence of trust,” he excluded such well-known people from the political world and officialdom as former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook and former Gangwon Governor Lee Kwang-jae.

Despite strong petitions from the left side, Moon did not pardon Lee Seok-ki, a former lawmaker serving a nine-year sentence, convicted of violating the National Security Law, and Han Sang-gyun, the former leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions convicted for leading violent demonstrations in connection with the Sewol ferry sinking.

The President exercised his exclusive right in a desirable way this time by pardoning mostly ordinary citizens who had committed light offenses like traffic rule violations, of course excluding those punished for drinking and driving.

But it is regrettable that the President made an exclusive political decision by restoring the civil rights of former lawmaker Chung Bong-ju who served a one-year term, stripped of his eligibility to run for public office until 2022 after being convicted of spreading false allegations against former President Lee Myung-bak.

The special amnesty for Chung no doubt reminded many that the prosecution has been all-out to investigate allegations against the Lee government. Chung is famous as the “sniper” against former President Lee.

It is also regrettable no businessmen were pardoned this time under the “principle” of excluding corrupt businessmen, regardless of the gravity of their offenses, disappointing the business community at the time of worsening economic circumstances.

The President should not exercise his constitutional right to grant special amnesty for any political purposes. But it has been abused in the past. Moon’s first pardon affected mostly ordinary citizens and can be a good model case in the days to come.