In response to the speculation that South Korean President Moon Jae-in intends to pardon former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak on August 15, Justice Minister Park Fan-jae denied it on the 28th, saying that it was "too late" to discuss relevant matters.
Ms. Park and Mr. Lee, both serving prison sentences for corruption, were admitted to hospital separately last week.
Park Van-jae denies the rumors. He told reporters that Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak were hospitalized for illness and that he had not received word from Moon about amnesty for the two former presidents.
Park Fan-jae said that if the former president is to be pardoned on "Easter's Day", the relevant committees must meet in advance to discuss. But since it's the holidays and the COVID-19 pandemic is severe, there is no such possibility.
Park Geun-hye was President of South Korea from 2013 to 2017. In January, South Korea's Supreme Court ruled in a final judgment on ms. Park's cronies and bribery from the National Intelligence Agency, sentencing her to 20 years in prison. She was previously sentenced to two years in prison for interfering in the parliamentary elections, which is subject to a cumulative 22-year sentence. Her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, was sentenced to 17 years in prison for embezzlement and bribery.
Zhang Jing (Xinhua News Agency micro-feature)
Source: Hainan Daily
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