~ MamakTalk ~: South Korean President May Grant Pardon To Jailed Samsung Leader

2021年6月1日星期二

South Korean President May Grant Pardon To Jailed Samsung Leader

South Korean President Moon Jae-in will reportedly meet leaders of the country’s top four conglomerates over a luncheon on Wednesday. While the ongoing global semiconductor chip shortage will likely be the center of the talks, there are speculations that the President may drop a hint on the possibilities of granting a pardon to imprisoned Samsung leader Lee Jae-yong.

Calls seeking a presidential pardon for Lee have been growing over the past few weeks. South Korea’s five major business lobby groups in April submitted a petition to the President. Several religious groups and individuals have also separately submitted similar requests. Even some US companies have thrown their weight behind this idea.

They all argue that Lee could play an important role in addressing the ongoing chip shortage problem. Samsung is mulling a multi-billion investment to expand its chip manufacturing capacity. However, Lee’s imprisonment is delaying those investment plans. This could have disastrous consequences for South Korea’s economy as well as affect the global ship supply chains in the long term.

President Moon hasn’t opposed the idea of granting the de facto Samsung leader a pardon as well. He last month suggested that Lee is an important figure for enhancing South Korea’s competitiveness in the chip industry. So him meeting the country’s top business executives is certain to raise speculations that Lee could get a presidential pardon.

The Samsung Vice Chairman has been in jail since January this year. He is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a 2017 bribery case involving then South Korea president Park Geun-hye, who is also behind bars. He decided against appealing the sentence. So he’ll have to serve out the full term unless the country’s President grants him a pardon or parole.

President Moon may consider a special measure for the Samsung leader

According to The Korea Times, tomorrow’s luncheon will be attended by senior executives from Samsung, Hyundai, LG, and SK Group. Incidentally, these four companies also contributed to a successful summit between Moon and US President Joe Biden on May 21. They have all pledged big investments in the semiconductor, electric vehicle battery, and automobile sectors in America. The four companies have promised a combined $39.45 billion in investments on American soil.

Samsung alone has pledged an investment of $17 billion in the US. So there are high expectations that President Moon may consider a “special measure” for the company’s imprisoned de facto leader Lee Jae-yong.

“Under the circumstance, there’s a fair chance that the release of Lee, in the form of either a pardon or on parole, will be brought up during the luncheon,” said Shin Yul, a political science professor at Myongji University. “I bet the President is dying for one of the luncheon guests to raise the issue.”

This will reportedly be the first such meeting in Moon’s final year in office. So with presidential elections scheduled for next year, letting Lee walk out free might trigger a backlash from the opposition camp. “Fairness, precedents, and public sentiment must be considered,” President Moon had said last month. As such, he may opt for parole, rather than a pardon for Lee.

However, while parole will set Lee free, he will not be able to work. Meanwhile, with a pardon, he can resume office immediately. So the latter is like what Samsung and other South Korean businesses want. All eyes and ears on tomorrow’s high-profile luncheon now.

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