Government set to approve beneficiaries of special pardons for Liberation Day

The government is expected to approve a list of people who will receive special pardons on Liberation Day on Tuesday, with all eyes focused on whether former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo will be among them.

The list, drawn up by a Justice Ministry panel last week, is expected to be approved at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and sent to President Yoon Suk Yeol for approval.

Kim is a close aide to former President Moon Jae-in, who was pardoned in December 2022 with five months left on his two-year prison sentence. The former governor was convicted of conducting an online opinion manipulation operation to help Moon get elected in the 2017 presidential election.

In granting the pardon, Yoon did not, however, restore the former governor’s civil rights, barring him from running for public office until December 2027.

Reports that Kim will be restored before Liberation Day on August 15 have rocked political circles, with ruling People’s Power Party chief Han Dong-hoon voicing objections, citing the former governor’s lack of remorse for his actions.

Other prominent recipients include Cho Yoon-sun, Hyun Ki-hwan and An Chong-bum, all of whom served as senior presidential secretaries under Park Geun-hye’s administration.

Won Sei-hoon, a former intelligence chief under President Lee Myung-bak, is also reportedly on the list.

Special pardons, part of the president’s inherent powers, have often been granted to convicted politicians, business leaders and other offenders at the start of a new year or around Liberation Day to reward good behavior and promote national harmony. (Yonhap)