President Elect Yoon to Ask President Moon to Pardon former ROK President
This should be a very interesting meeting considering how much Moon and Yoon reportedly dislike each other:
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is likely to ask President Moon Jae-in to grant a special pardon to jailed former President Lee Myung-bak when they hold a meeting this week, a senior official close to Yoon said Monday.Â
Moon and Yoon are scheduled to meet at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae on Wednesday, according to political sources.
They will discuss a range of issues, including government transition, coronavirus responses and North Korea’s likely long-range missile test, during the meeting, which will be their first since June 2020, when Yoon was prosecutor general, they said.
Yonhap
You can read more at the link, but it is probably going to be a tough sell to pardon Lee Myung-bak who the Korean left despises for investigating former president Roh Moo-hyun. The investigation uncovered corruption around Roh who ended up committing suicide. The Korean left has long blamed Lee for the suicide and investigating him and putting him in jail was a form of payback.
Might be an opportunity for Moon to earn a pardon, regardless of what the so-called “right” dreams up… “tit for tat” as they say.
Presidential pardons are usually handed out around Independence Day. And those Independence Day pardons, since they are given to a bunch of people, has been used as a cover for pardoning politically controversial people. There are however “special” pardons like the one given to former Pres. Park Geun Hye late last year.
The Moon administration is packing up and preparing to vacate the Blue House, with no thought on making major decisions, so it is curious on why an incoming President would ask an outgoing President to pardon former Pres. Lee, considering Yoon could give the pardon himself once he assumes office, or three months later on Independence Day.
Unless of course the PPP wants to enjoy putting Moon into a corner and watching his reaction?
Korean taxpayers despise Lee Myung-bak for the US$17.3 billion Four Rivers <del>boondoggle</del> Project.
All that moolah into the pockets of his hubae in Hyundai Construction Company.
I think commie moon would rather jump off the Bonghwa cliffs than pardon his hated enemy 2MB.