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By Jung Da-min
Rep. Lee Won-wook of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), a close aide to former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, has called for a presidential pardon for Lee Jae-yong, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics and de facto head of Samsung Group.
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| Rep. Lee Won-wook of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea / Korea Times file |
"The economy is very unstable due to the COVID-19 situation and people are also demanding that Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong needs to be pardoned to overcome the country's semiconductor crisis," the three-term lawmaker said during a radio interview with local broadcaster BBS, Tuesday.
After Lee was sentenced to two and a half years in prison by the Seoul High Court on Jan. 18 in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye, requests for Lee's pardon have been made by various sectors from religious to political communities, as well as major business lobby groups.
According to a poll of 1,000 adults conducted by local pollster Data Research on April 26, 71.2 percent of the respondents said Lee should be pardoned, while 26.2 percent said they oppose the pardon.
In mid-April, Rep. Yang Hyang-ja, another DPK lawmaker and former board member of Samsung, also brought up the issue, citing the global hegemonic competition in the semiconductor sector.
"The country's representative company, which went out to the global battlefield, is fighting without a leader who should be leading the combat," she said.
However, the DPK leadership has said releasing Lee is not the party's official position.
Prime Minister nominee Kim Boo-kyum has remained cautious on the matter.
"The exercise of the right to pardon is the President's own authority and the President will closely look into the will of the politicians and the people to decide on the matter," Kim said in a written answer to the National Assembly for his confirmation hearing set to be held Thursday and Friday.
Kim said that many people still seem to be thinking of fairness and justice and a pardon without the consensus of the people will help neither the integration of the people nor the economic development of the country.
