{"id":2198297,"date":"2022-08-17T16:04:10","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T07:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2198297"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:44","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:44","slug":"yoon-chases-public-opinion-as-he-pardons-samsung-prince-but-not-an-ex-president","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/08\/yoon-chases-public-opinion-as-he-pardons-samsung-prince-but-not-an-ex-president\/","title":{"rendered":"Yoon chases public opinion as he pardons Samsung prince, but not an ex-president"},"content":{"rendered":"

South Korea celebrated the anniversary of its liberation from Japanese rule on Monday, and President Yoon Suk-yeol used the holiday to announce pardons for convicted criminals \u2014 most notably de facto Samsung group head Lee Jae-yong.<\/span><\/p>\n

This practice of pardoning both well-known and common criminals is a well-established part of the South Korean political scene. Park Chung-hee used prisoner releases to deflect criticism of human rights activists at home and abroad in the 1970s. And since democratization in 1987, both <\/span>progressive<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>conservative<\/span><\/a> presidents have freed high-profile business leaders and politicians, while granting amnesty to <\/span>thousands of average citizens<\/span><\/a> for offenses as minor as traffic tickets.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon\u2019s pardon of the Samsung vice chairman is in line with <\/span>this precedent<\/span><\/a>, and it appears aimed at winning Lee\u2019s support for his economic policies and boosting the president\u2019s dangerously low approval ratings.<\/span><\/p>\n

But just as important from a political point of view was the fact that the Yoon administration did not use his constitutional power to issue special pardons without legislative approval to free imprisoned former President Lee Myung-bak and other political figures, a decision that shines a light on Yoon\u2019s particular sensitivity to public opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Lee Jae-yong visiting the Samsung R&D Center in Jan. 2021 | Image: Samsung Newsroom<\/p><\/div>\n

THE PARDON OF LEE JAE-YONG<\/b><\/p>\n

Pardoning the Samsung prince was an easy decision for the Yoon administration for several reasons.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Lee Jae-yong was <\/span>convicted of bribery<\/span><\/a> and sentenced to two years and six months in prison in early 2021 for providing 43 billion won ($37.7 million) to nonprofits run by Choi Soon-sil, the notorious confidant of former president Park Geun-hye.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, the Moon Jae-in administration already <\/span>released<\/span><\/a> Lee from prison on parole in August last year after he served just over 200 days of his sentence. Moon had thus already made the more controversial decision to cut short Lee\u2019s punishment for the bribery scandal. Yoon\u2019s pardon will only lift some remaining restrictions on Lee\u2019s business activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Moreover the decision to pardon Lee is a fairly popular one among the Korean people. <\/span>One recent poll<\/span><\/a> found that 77% supported pardoning Lee. Releasing Lee from prison last summer was also <\/span>popular:<\/span><\/a> 67% of respondents in one poll supported the move as a way to \u201creinvigorate\u201d the economy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, the Yoon administration will need Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won on their side if the administration is to push forward with the <\/span>Chip 4 alliance<\/span><\/a> with the U.S., Japan and Taiwan. Samsung and SK Hynix are South Korea\u2019s two major players in the semiconductor sector.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The U.S. has shown no concern for Lee Jae-yong\u2019s tenuous legal status, nor <\/span>Chey Tae-won\u2019s criminal record<\/span><\/a>. Joe Biden <\/span>toured a Samsung chip plant<\/span><\/a> with Lee during his May visit to South Korea and recently held a teleconference with Chey, during which the chairman announced that SK will <\/span>invest $22 billion<\/span><\/a> to set up manufacturing facilities in the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also should not go unnoticed that Lee Jae-yong and another pardoned chaebol owner, Lotte CEO Shin Dong-bin, were in prison through the efforts of Yoon Seok-yeol\u2019s <\/span>Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon<\/span><\/a>. This suggests that mending personal relationships was a factor as well.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in 2008 | Image: Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

AVOIDING POLITICAL CONTROVERSIES<\/b><\/p>\n

Refusing to pardon Lee Myung-bak and other convicted politicians makes as much sense for the Yoon administration as pardoning Lee Jae-yong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Polling shows that <\/span>a majority of South Koreans<\/span><\/a> (56%) opposed pardoning the former president, who was <\/span>convicted for embezzlement and bribery<\/span><\/a> and sentenced to 17 years in prison.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At nearly equal rates, South Koreans do not favor pardoning the former governor of South Gyeongsang Province Kim Kyoung-soo, who was sentenced to <\/span>two years in prison<\/span><\/a> for his involvement in a plot to manipulate online public opinion. The same goes for Chung Kyung-sim, the wife of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who was convicted for forging documents to help her daughter gain admission to medical school and sentenced to <\/span>four years in prison<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Polling showed that Koreans were split decisively along party lines when it came to supporting or opposing pardons for all three political figures. Pardoning the former president would have been especially troublesome for Yoon, who has included many <\/span>former members of Lee\u2019s administration<\/span><\/a> in his own government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo was Lee\u2019s ambassador to the U.S. Deputy Prime Minister Choo Kyung-ho, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, National Security Advisor Kim Sung-han and several other members of Yoon\u2019s Cabinet also all served in some capacity in the Lee government.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yoon, who promised to make \u201c<\/span>national unity<\/span><\/a>\u201d a priority, had to choose between throwing a bone to his base by pardoning the former president and not pardoning its political opponents, or making everyone unhappy by pardoning all or none.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Yoon administration appears to have decided on the path of least resistance by siding with the majority in rejecting pardon pleas from all three political figures.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

HOPING FOR A REBOUND<\/b><\/p>\n

As <\/span>Karl Friedhoff<\/span><\/a> recently pointed out for Korea Pro, the Yoon administration has been hemorrhaging support following a series of unforced policy errors. The pardons aim at reversing the trend.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But just because the Yoon administration followed public opinion by pardoning conglomerate owners and keeping politicians in prison does not mean the pardons were completely uncontroversial.<\/span><\/p>\n

Scholars and democracy activists<\/span><\/a> have long been critical of the use of pardons to free conglomerate owners as it is inconsistent with the principle of rule of law. This points to an interesting inconsistency in Korean public opinion at large: Many favor pardoning the Samsung leader who committed bribery to further his business interests, but lash out toward politicians like <\/span>Cho Kuk<\/span><\/a> who use their privilege to bend and break rules to advance their children\u2019s careers.<\/span><\/p>\n

This points to a dilemma ahead for the Yoon administration. How far will Yoon be willing to go to satisfy public opinion? And what will happen when public opinion steers the administration in a direction it does not want to go?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, the Yoon administration has made improving relations with Japan a key element of its foreign policy, but <\/span>yielding to Tokyo<\/span><\/a> on historical issues faces wide opposition from Korean society. And the president continues to push to <\/span>abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family<\/span><\/a> even though the public generally prefers to see it reformed.<\/span><\/p>\n

With no sturdy political base to draw from, the Yoon administration\u2019s policies could lurch in random directions as it chases public support.<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Bryan Betts<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Business & Economy<\/span><\/a>Domestic Politics<\/span><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Korea celebrated the anniversary of its liberation from Japanese rule on Monday, and President Yoon Suk-yeol used the holiday to announce pardons for convicted criminals \u2014 most notably de facto Samsung group head Lee Jae-yong. This practice of pardoning both well-known and common criminals is a well-established part of the South Korean political scene. 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