Biz circle welcomes Liberation Day pardons for business figures

Korea’s business circle on Monday welcomed President Yoon Suk Yeol’s grant of special pardons to prominent business figures.

From far left, Park Chan-koo, honorary chairman of Kumho Petrochemical, Lee Joong-keun, founder of Booyoung Group, Lee Jang-han, chairman of Chong Kun Dang, and Lee Ho-jin, former chairman of Taekwang Group, were granted a special pardon by President Yoon Suk Yeol in celebration of the Liberation Day. [YONHAP]

Korea’s business circle on Monday welcomed President Yoon Suk Yeol’s grant of special pardons to prominent business figures.

The announcement of special pardons in celebration of the country's Liberation Day on Aug. 15 indicates Yoon's intent to stimulate the stagnant economy.

Of the 2,176 people on the list, 12 were business people, including Lee Joong-keun, founder of Booyoung Group, Lee Ho-jin, former chairman of Taekwang Group, Lee Jang-han, chairman of Chong Kun Dang, Kang Jung-seok, former chairman of Dong-A Socio Holdings and Park Chan-koo, honorary chairman of Kumho Petrochemical.

"We deeply appreciate the government and the Korean people," Booyoung Group said in a release Monday upon founder Lee Joong-keun's pardon.

"We will strive to stabilize the housing situation and vitalize the economy."

Lee was sentenced to two and a half years of prison time after a court found him guilty of embezzlement and business malpractices in 2020. His prison time has ended but Lee was banned from returning to work due to the Act of Aggravated Punishment for Specific Economic Crimes.

Taekwang Group in a release said it will "make continued investment and generate youth employment to contribute to the country's development."

Business groups also hailed the latest pardon decision.

“We welcome the fact that major businessmen were pardoned and reinstated through the special pardon for Liberation Day,” Kang Seok-koo, head of the research division at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said on Monday.

“[The latest decision] will stimulate the struggling economy and is perceived as a request to businesspeople to play an active role in their positions moving forward.”

Yoon's grant of special pardons during last year's Liberation Day, his first since he took office in May 2022, also focused on the growth of the economy. Samsung executive chairman Lee Jae-yong, Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Dongkuk Steel's former chairman Jang Se-joo, and STX Group former chairman Kang Duk-soo were among those on the list that year.

The second round of amnesties announced just before the Lunar New Year holiday last year focused on politicians, including former President Lee Myung-bak.

The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said the latest pardons will be an opportunity for Korean businesspeople to re-acknowledge their role in "paying back to the country via their businesses."

"The business circle will pioneer its way out of the slow economy amid a fast-changing environment and will look for new growth engines while welcoming challenges and innovation," the FKI said.

However, the list of special pardons announced Monday excluded Choi Gee-sung, former head of Samsung Electronics' now-dissolved Future Strategy Office and his former deputy Chang Choong-ki, both of whom are serving jail time due to their connection with a massive influence-peddling scandal during the Park Geung-hye administration.

BY JIN EUN-SOO [jin.eunsoo@joongang.co.kr]