South Korean leader under fire for pardoning convicts

[bauci.livejournal.com]

South Korea’s president has pardoned almost 5,000 convicts, including business figures, going back on an election pledge to do away with the practice. Among the 4,876 freed under the pardons approved by Park Geun-hye are Lee Jae-hyun, 56, the ailing chairman of CJ Group, South Korea’s 15th ranked chaebol with interests including food, entertainment and logistics.




Beneficiaries of the decades-old practice marking important holidays have included senior figures from chaebols convicted of white-collar crime. A backlash against the practice, widely considered to further erode accountability among the controlling families of chaebol that dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy, prompted Ms Park to promise to scrap the pardons as part of her election manifesto.

Mr Lee was sentenced to two-and-a-half years for tax evasion and embezzlement but has been released from prison for hospital treatment after a kidney transplant. Solidarity for Economic Reform, a civic group, said the president was “repeating her predecessors’ bad old practices. This is a serious matter beyond breaking her campaign promise. “They inflicted losses on their companies to pursue their personal gain. She should refrain from pardoning those corrupt businessmen,” it said.

The justice ministry said on Friday: “In the case of businessmen, we selected a limited number of people . . . after gathering diverse opinions to unite our people and overcome an economic crisis.” The prime minister said in an extraordinary cabinet meeting that she expected those pardoned to “actively join the efforts to revive the economy and contribute to national development”.

Ms Park, who had condemned the practice repeatedly before taking power, earlier ordered the release of Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, who was sentenced to a four-year jail term for embezzling $40m but has returned to management.

Missing from Friday’s list of beneficiaries were Kim Seung-yeon, chairman of Hanwha Group, Chey Jae-won, vice-chairman of SK Group, and Koo Bon-sang, vice-chairman of LIG Nex1. Kim, who had already been pardoned twice, has returned to management after being handed a suspended prison sentence in 2014 for breach of trust. Chey Jae-won, younger brother of the SK chairman, was paroled last month before finishing his three-and-a-half-year sentence for embezzlement, and Koo is serving a four-year term for fraud. Kim Hyun-woong, justice minister, said the three missed out because of the nature of their crimes and public sentiment towards them.



Song Jung-a @ Financial Times

Will it ever stop?

Comments

[springsky.livejournal.com]

Wow, I can't believe this. Disgusting. She really has no shame. The economy my butt!

[hellicoptajuuce.livejournal.com]

Will she pardon Bom's drug trackking? I WANT MY 2NE1 CUMBACK

On a serious note this is some fucking bullshit

[jinkiestabi.livejournal.com]

Um.....what the hell? And these people are just going back to their jobs? No no.

[bauci.livejournal.com]

So the way out of an (economic) crisis is to put all their hopes in a group of "ex"crooks... sounds like a a basis to a blockbuster movie.

[isaac-of-nine.livejournal.com]

I was just thinking it sounds kind of like an economic Suicide Squad.

[torontok.livejournal.com]

Reminder that Lee Soo Man also received one of these years ago.
She's scum

[amandaplan.livejournal.com]

wtf. this is horrible.

[pearlychoco.livejournal.com]

she has no shame - ugh

[a-cheshire-grin.livejournal.com]

Yes, she sealed the deal with Abe, the joke my country has as a Prime Minister. -.-

The deal is a farce and a punch in the face of all these poor women, who were sexually exploited by Japanese soldiers during the Second World War!

If you're interested, you can read more here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jan/26/former-sex-slaves-reject-japan-south-koreas-comfort-women-accord

[a-cheshire-grin.livejournal.com]

this is so depressing, i really want to know if there's anything i could do to help

I don't think that we "common people" can do much. I know that there have been protests in Korea and Japan against this deal by feminist organisations and the comfort women have spoken out themselves, of course, but it hasn't really changed much.

And yes, I agree. The world is a sad place and I've stopped believing a long time ago that politicians are working for us and not against us and for themselves! x.x

[premonitioner.livejournal.com]

:) the (corrupt) apple doesn’t fall far from the tree

[yixingsforehead.livejournal.com]

kdramas do get the inspiration from somewhere.
when will society (societies?) improve...

[cosmicjam.livejournal.com]

This is so incredibly messed up. So sad. I can't even believe how she was able to became president but at the same time i can

[chimpansee.livejournal.com]

''earlier ordered the release of Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group, who was sentenced to a four-year jail term for embezzling $40m but has returned to management''

Lmao damn. Being rich is one hell of a trip. I can't believe these people can just go back to their jobs. What kind of justice system allows this?

[a-cheshire-grin.livejournal.com]

What kind of justice system allows this?

A justice system, which is run by the people it claims to punish.

[suxaholic.livejournal.com]

pure evil

[soyunatetera.livejournal.com]

What a beautiful world we live in :)

[ashdevilrun23.livejournal.com]

i seriously yelled bitch at my screen sk needs an uprising

[dorawa.livejournal.com]

There won't ever be one because she would just kill a bunch of people and squash them all like her dictator father did in the 70s

[ashdevilrun23.livejournal.com]

I didn't even know her dad was a dictator smdh

[dorawa.livejournal.com]

Really? Lol that was her whole selling point, she's the daughter of Park Chung Hee the "president" from the 70s who rebuilt Korea but was basically a military dictatorship

[ashdevilrun23.livejournal.com]

and people voted for her yikes. i need to read up on recent korean history lol

[dorawa.livejournal.com]

This literal fucking filth I hate her so much I can't wait until she's fucking gone I'm so glad her party is out of the majority she can fuck off

[phililen3.livejournal.com]

Being rich must be AMAZING. Seriously. Where can I sign up?