Special Pardon on Liberation Day… List Includes Cho Kuk, Jeong Kyung-sim, Yoon Mi-hyang, and Choi Kang-wook
The government is implementing a large-scale special pardon ahead of Liberation Day.
On the 11th, the government announced that it will execute a special pardon for 836,687 individuals, including former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, effective from the 15th.
The pardon covers a diverse range of individuals, including 1,920 general criminal offenders, 27 politicians and key public officials, 16 businesspeople, and 184 union members, street vendors, and farmers.
Also included in the pardon are Jeong Kyung-sim, former professor at Dongyang University and wife of former Minister Cho Kuk, as well as former lawmakers Choi Kang-wook and Yoon Mi-hyang, along with former Seoul Education Superintendent Cho Hee-yeon.
In the ruling party, members such as Rep. Yoon Geon-young, former Chief of Civil Affairs Baek Won-woo, and former Minister of Environment Kim Eun-kyung are included in the pardon list. From the opposition party, former lawmakers Hong Mun-jong and Jung Chan-min are also listed.
In the business sector, former SK Networks Chairman Choi Seon-woo, former Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Choi Ji-sung, and former Samsung Electronics Presidents Jang Chung-ki and Park Sang-jin have been granted pardons and reinstatements.
Additionally, 42 small business owners, 184 union members, street vendors, and farmers, 440 individuals in driving-related occupations, and 249 youths (aged 19-34) who are low-income offenders have also been broadly included in the pardon.
Goal of National Unity and Revitalization of the Economy
The government explained that this special pardon aims to "end the politics of division and discord and is being carried out in the context of national unity, particularly for Liberation Day."
It announced a broad special pardon and reinstatement for a total of 2,188 individuals, including low-income offenders such as small business owners, youth, and driving industry workers, as well as businesspeople and politicians from both ruling and opposition parties, labor, and farmers.
Moreover, the government has implemented special leniency measures for 834,499 individuals subject to administrative sanctions in fields such as information and communications construction, food service, subsistence fishing, and driver’s licenses.
Credit recovery support will be provided for approximately 3.24 million individuals with minor delinquency records, and plans are in place to grant parole to 1,014 model prisoners as of August 14 to facilitate early reintegration into society.
Image source: Former leader of the Justice Party Cho Kuk / News1, Minister of Justice Jeong Seong-ho announcing the special pardon list for Liberation Day at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 11th / News1
