South Korea’s New Year’s amnesty order will be released on the 28th. Former President Lee Myung-bak is expected to be pardoned.

China News Service, December 24. According to Yonhap News Agency’s report on the 23rd local time, the South Korean New Year’s amnesty order will be released on the 28th. Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is expected to receive a special pardon.

According to reports, the South Korean Ministry of Justice’s Amnesty Review Committee met on the morning of the 23rd to review the New Year’s amnesty list, and Lee Myung-bak and former Gyeongsangnam-do Governor Kim Kyung-soo were on the list. Lee Myung-bak will also restore political rights, while Kim Kyung-soo is not included in the restoration.

Lee Myung-bak was finally sentenced to 17 years in prison for corruption and bribery in October 2020. He is currently suspended due to poor health and has 15 years left in prison.

Kim Kyung-soo was sentenced to 2 years in prison in July 2021 for manipulating public opinion. Although the rest of the sentence was exempted, he was deprived of the right to be elected for 7 years until May 2028.

In addition, Nam Jae-joon, Lee Byung-ki, and Lee Byung-ho, the former directors of the National Intelligence Service who were imprisoned for alleged bribery to former President Park Geun-hye, are also expected to be pardoned, as is Cheon Byung-hun, the former chief executive secretary of the Blue House.

Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice of South Korea, will report the list of pardons and restoration to President Yoon Seok-yue in the near future. However, since pardons are the inherent power of the president, the final list of pardons may be slightly different from the recommended list. Yin Xiyue will chair a state affairs meeting on the 27th to finalize the final list of amnesty personnel and issue an amnesty decree on the 28th.