The Presidential Office emphasized on the 11th regarding the special pardon announced on Liberation Day that "there are many more people from the opposition than from the ruling party." This includes classifying the former representative of the Rebuilding Korea Party, Cho Kuk, as an "opposition figure."
Spokesperson Kang Yu-jeong of the Presidential Office said in a briefing that day, "If we see President Lee Jae-myung's party as the Democratic Party, then the Rebuilding Korea Party is clearly the opposition."
He emphasized, "It is difficult to say that those who are close to the president are the main targets of the pardon."
He added, "This pardon reflects the president's will to move towards politics of great integration that transcends the severe divisions and conflicts, opening the way for dialogue and reconciliation."
This time, 27 politicians and key public officials were included in the pardon list. Among them, strictly speaking, 19 individuals are related to the progressive camp.
First, four individuals are connected to allegations of entrance exam fraud involving former representative Cho Kuk's children. Those include former representative Cho Kuk, who received a two-year prison sentence; his wife, Chung Kyung-sim, who received a four-year prison sentence; former lawmaker Choi Gang-wook, who was definitively sentenced to eight months in prison for providing false confirmations of internship for Cho's son; and Noh Hwan-jung, former head of Busan Medical Center, who received a fine of 10 million won for providing scholarships to Cho's daughter, Cho Min.
Additionally, former lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, who received a one-year and six-month prison sentence with three years of probation for embezzling donations collected for victims of the Japanese military's comfort women, former Seoul Superintendent of Education Cho Hee-yeon and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education Secretary Han Man-jung, who were convicted of preferential hiring of dismissed teachers from the Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations, and former Vice Minister Lee Yong-goo, who was definitively sentenced to six months in prison with two years of probation for assaulting a taxi driver while intoxicated, are among the individuals from the ruling party named in the pardon.
Among the conservative figures, eight were pardoned or restored. Former lawmakers Jeong Chan-min, Hong Moon-jong, and Sim Hak-bong, who received heavy sentences for bribery and embezzlement, were pardoned. Earlier, Song Eon-seok of the People Power Party had requested the special pardon for Liberation Day from the Presidential Office.
Former People Power Party lawmaker Ha Young-je and former Sacheon Mayor Song Do-geun were pardoned after being charged with political fund misappropriation, and conservative elder Song Kwang-ho, who served four years for accepting hundreds of millions of won in bribes, was also restored. Additionally, former Minister Moon Hyung-pyo, who was sentenced to prison for exerting undue influence on the National Pension Service (NPS) to support the merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, and former head of the NPS Fund Management Headquarters Hong Wan-seon were also included in the pardon list.