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Outgoing South Korean Leader Creates Furor With Pardons
Outgoing South Korean Leader Creates Furor With Pardons
(about 4 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — With less than one month left in office, the departing president, Lee Myung-bak, of South Korea on Tuesday granted special pardons to a longtime friend, political allies and dozens of others convicted of corruption and other crimes, igniting a rare quarrel with the country’s president-elect.
SEOUL, South Korea — With less than one month left in office, the departing president, Lee Myung-bak, of South Korea granted special pardons on Tuesday to political allies, a longtime friend and dozens of others who have been convicted of corruption and other crimes. The pardons ignited a rare quarrel between the country’s outgoing president and president-elect.
For days, the office of the incoming president, Park Geun-hye, had warned Mr. Lee not to “abuse his presidential power” by granting presidential pardons in his last days in office. Doing so, it said, would “go against the will of the people.”
The office of the incoming president, Park Geun-hye, had warned Mr. Lee for days not to “abuse his presidential power” by granting pardons in his last days in office that would “go against the will of the people.”
In ignoring that appeal, Mr. Lee asserted on Tuesday that he was still the president.
Mr. Lee ignored that appeal. “This is not an abuse of presidential authority,” Mr. Lee was quoted by his offices as saying during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday. “It is carried out according to law and procedure.” His office said Mr. Lee noted that far fewer people have been granted presidential clemency during his five years in office than under his predecessors.
“This is not an abuse of presidential authority,” Mr. Lee was quoted as saying by his office during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, adding that the number of people pardoned under his five-year rule — 13,000 — was far smaller than those who had won presidential clemency under his predecessors. “It is carried out according to law and procedure,” he added.
The highly unusual dispute between Mr. Lee and Ms. Park, who are members of the governing Saenuri Party, rekindled a long-running controversy in South Korea over the president’s clemency power. Presidents typically issue pardons several times during their terms, often just before national holidays, and hundreds or thousands of people at a time may be freed from prison or have restored civil rights that were revoked by a criminal conviction, like the right to run for political office. But the beneficiaries have often been prominent politicians, big businessmen and close associates of the president. Civic groups and others complain that such pardons help foster persistent corruption among the country’s political and business elite by allowing the well-connected to escape justice.
The highly unusual row between Mr. Lee and Ms. Park, both members of the governing Saenuri Party, rekindled a long-running controversy over a South Korean president’s power to grant special amnesty.
On the campaign trail, candidates for president often warn that people convicted of corruption should not expect a pardon. But once elected, they invariably announce a special amnesty near the end of the single five-year term they are allowed under the Constitution.
In recent decades, every South Korean president has exercised that power more than once a year, freeing inmates or restoring the civil rights of ex-convicts, like letting them run for political office. Such pardons were typically given ahead of national holidays, like the Lunar New Year’s Day, which falls on Feb. 10 this year, and affected as many as thousands of people at a time.
Mr. Lee, whose term ends Feb. 25, continued that pattern with special pardons for 55 people on Tuesday, including Chun Shin-il, a businessman and longtime friend, and Choi See-joong, a close ally and former cabinet member. Both were convicted of bribery and have served less than half of their prison terms.
But those who traditionally have benefited also included several politicians, big businessmen and close associates of the president, some of whom had been convicted in high-profile corruption cases. That spawned a persistent complaint from civic groups and ordinary citizens that in South Korea the corrupt yet politically connected escaped legal justice, helping foster persistent corruption among the country’s political and business elite.
The pardons also erased the criminal records of two allies of Mr. Lee who were convicted of bribery but avoided prison terms: Park Hee-tae, a former National Assembly speaker, and Kim Hyo-jae, a former senior aide.
South Korean presidents, during their campaigns, had often warned that those convicted of corruption should not expect special pardons. But once elected, they invariably issued a special amnesty toward the end of their single five-year term, leading the political opposition to accuse them of giving their last favor to their allies before they left office.
Ms. Park’s spokesman, Yoon Chang-jung, assailed the step. “Pushing ahead with pardoning those involved in irregularities and corruption will receive a national reproach,” Mr. Yoon said on Tuesday. “President Lee should bear all responsibility.”
Mr. Lee, who will hand over the presidency to Ms. Park on Feb. 25, continued that pattern when he approved special pardons for 55 people on Tuesday.
The Democratic United Party, the main opposition group, raised suspicions that Ms. Park’s criticism of Mr. Lee was insincere and meant to shield her from any public anger over the pardons. In fact, a close ally of Ms. Park was among those pardoned on Tuesday.
Although that was a modest number, it included Mr. Lee’s longtime friend, the businessman Chun Shin-il and his close political ally and former Cabinet member Choi See-joong. Both of them were convicted of bribery and have finished less than half of their prison terms.
“We are appalled by the brazen arrogance, self-righteousness and lack of communication that President Lee is demonstrating until his last day in office,” the party’s spokesman, Jung Sung-ho, said in a statement. “President-elect Park Geun-hye should be held responsible, too, for doing nothing to stop the pardons except uttering a few words of criticism.”
The amnesty also erased the criminal records of two other allies of Mr. Lee who were convicted of bribery but avoided prison terms: Park Hee-tae, a former National Assembly speaker, and Kim Hyo-jae, a former senior political affairs aide to Mr. Lee.
Ms. Park’s transition team was thrown into disarray on Tuesday when her choice for prime minister withdrew his name because of reports raising suspicions that he and his family accumulated a fortune through real-estate speculation. The nominee, Kim Yong-joon, also headed the transition team.
Ms. Park, like her predecessors, had, during her campaign, expressed concerns about the tendency of departing presidents to grant special pardons, and those concerns were echoed Tuesday by her aides.
“Pushing ahead with pardoning those involved in irregularities and corruption will receive a national reproach,” her spokesman, Yoon Chang-jung, said on Tuesday after the pardons were announced. “President Lee should bear all responsibility.”
The main opposition Democratic United Party raised suspicions that Ms. Park’s criticism of Mr. Lee was insincere and was a political gambit aimed at shielding her from the public backlash over the controversial pardons. In fact, several other politicians pardoned on Tuesday included a close ally of Ms. Park.
“We are appalled by the brazen arrogance, self-righteousness and lack of communication that President Lee is demonstrating till his last day in office,” the party’s spokesman, Jung Sung-ho, said in a statement. “President-elect Park Geun-hye should be held responsible too for doing nothing to stop the pardons except uttering a few words of criticism.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Park’s transition team plummeted into disarray on Tuesday, when her choice as prime minister, the former Constitutional Court head Kim Yong-joon, stepped down even before his confirmation hearing started at the National Assembly.
Ms. Park had selected Mr. Kim, 74, also head of her transition team, as her prime minister last week. But domestic media and the political opposition have since raised suspicions that Mr. Kim and his family may have accumulated a large fortune through real-estate speculations.
“I decided to step down as prime minister-appointee because I have caused worries to the people and to the president-elect,” Mr. Yoon quoted Mr. Kim as saying in a news conference, without commenting on the accusations against Mr. Kim.
