Moon rejects pardons of ex-presidents

By Kang Seung-woo

President Moon Jae-in announced his objection to offering presidential pardons for his two jailed predecessors, Monday, claiming the timing was inappropriate.

The rejection of the suggestion to release former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak came during his New Year press conference at Cheong Wa Dae.

Park is serving a combined 22-year sentence for bribery and illegal interference in a nomination process of her former party, while Lee has been sentenced to 17 years in jail for embezzlement and bribery.

“It is not the right time yet to discuss pardoning them,” Moon said.

“It is very unfortunate to see two former presidents behind bars, but their trials have just finished and their acts of misconduct did the nation a lot of harm, inflicting enormous pain and suffering on the people.”

The President expressed his belief that he should only use his authority to grant pardons if there is a public consensus.

“Otherwise, the pardons will divide the nation, impeding social integration,” he added.

Moon also referenced the refusal of Park and Lee to accept the court rulings in their respective cases and said that it would be unacceptable for him to grant them pardons.

Whether or not the two former leaders should be granted clemency has been a topic of much debate in political circles since the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon floated the idea last month.

While the main opposition People Power Party welcomed the proposal, urging Moon to make a bold decision to release his former political foes, the ruling bloc ― particularly Moon's supporters ― strongly opposed it, calling for the resignation of DPK Chairman Lee.

In response, the DPK chief said he respected the decision of the President.

In the long-standing feud between Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl over prosecutorial reform, DPK lawmakers and those supportive of Moon have been ramping up criticism of Yoon. They claim the prosecutor general violated his political neutrality obligation by blocking the President's drive to reform the prosecution.

In the wake of the struggle, Yoon has emerged as a top potential presidential candidate for the opposition. Multiple opinion polls of potential candidates show that he is in a neck-and-neck race for the lead with Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung and the DPK chairman although he has not declared any intention in public to run.

Surprisingly, Moon defended Yoon.

“I would like to say that he's a prosecutor general of the Moon Jae-in government. I don't think he's serving at the post with politics or a related plan in mind,” he said.

As for a profit-sharing idea, also proposed by the DPK chairman, the President said it would be desirable for profitable companies to distribute their earnings to those hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, saying it was not enough for the government to completely finance them.

“However, the underlying assumption is that we should not twist anyone's arm,” he added, saying it should, if implemented, come voluntarily.

The press conference drew mixed responses from the rival parties.

“The President's efforts to communicate with the people stood out during the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and we hope his efforts will pay off in integrating the people and bringing together national competency,” DPK spokesman Rep. Choi In-ho said.

On the other hand, PPP spokesman Rep. Choi Hyung-du said the press conference was the worst ever, saying it was “just a press conference held for the sake of having a press conference.”