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| The head monks of Jogye Order's 24 branch temples in a meeting in this 2018 file photo / Korea Times file |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The head monks of the 24 branch temples of the country's largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order, pleaded with President Moon Jae-in and two other key politicians to give jailed Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong a second chance.
Although they stopped short of asking for a pardon, they said Lee deserves such a chance to repent his past and take action to fulfill his commitments.
"We understand that Mr. Lee has made plenty of efforts to repent on his past and even released a public apology prior to the court's ruling. In the statement, he admitted Samsung didn't play by the rules and was unethical. He also said he was sorry for being unable to respond to the heightened social norms of society," they said in a joint statement.
The statement was delivered to President Moon, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug.
The Buddhist leaders called on the Korean public to observe whether Lee lives up to his past commitments if he is freed, saying they would know if he was serious about these.
"We humans err because none of us are perfect. All of us are flawed because we are humans. Mr. Lee is one of these vulnerable humans. We hope that he may have a second chance to repent on his past and act on his promises," the statement read.
It's rare for the head monks of the nation's largest Buddhist sect to release a joint statement calling for leniency for a jailed businessman.
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