Gov’t set to approve beneficiaries of special pardons for Liberation Day

The government on Tuesday is set to approve a list of people to be granted special pardons on the occasion of Liberation Day, with all eyes on whether former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo will be included. The list, which was drawn up by a justice ministry panel last week, is set to be approved during a Cabinet meeting led by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and sent to President Yoon Suk Yeol for endorsement. Kim is a close associate of former President Moon Jae-in who was pardoned in December 2022 with five months left of his two-year prison term. The former governor was convicted of conducting an online opinion manipulation scheme to help get Moon elected in the 2017 presidential election. In granting the pardon, however, Yoon did not reinstate the former governor's civilian rights, banning him from running for public office until December 2027. Reports that Kim will have his rights reinstated ahead of the Aug. 15 Liberation Day have rattled political circles, with ruling People Power Party chief Ha n Dong-hoon expressing objections, citing the former governor's lack of remorse for his actions. Other high-profile figures reportedly among the beneficiaries include Cho Yoon-sun, Hyun Ki-hwan and An Chong-bum, all of whom served as senior presidential secretaries during the Park Geun-hye administration. Won Sei-hoon, a former spy chief under President Lee Myung-bak, is also reportedly on the list. Special pardons, which are among the president's inherent powers, have often been granted to convicted politicians, business executives and other offenders at the start of a new year or around Liberation Day to reward good behavior and foster national harmony. Source: Yonhap News Agency