YONHAP NEWS

Nearly 3 million people pardoned on Lee's 100th day in office

   SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) -- The government on Tuesday granted pardons to 2.8 million people, mostly citizens who committed minor offenses, to mark President Lee Myung-bak's 100th day in office but denied clemency to politicians and business executives.

   "The government hereby expects they will leave behind their regretful past and make a fresh start through these special pardons and hopes to build a new momentum for social integration and the stabilization of people's livelihoods," Justice Minister Kim Kyung-han said in a press conference.

   The beneficiaries are mostly elderly and disabled citizens and traffic offenders who eke out a living by driving, Kim said. The drivers affected will have their records cleared and their driving licenses restored on Wednesday, he said.

   Unlike Lee's predecessors, however, the president did not include businessmen or politicians in his amnesty in an apparent move to appease public sentiment. Support for Lee has nosedived to the 20-percent range in recent weeks following the government's agreement with Washington to fully resume U.S. beef imports despite concerns over mad cow disease.

   Critics say Lee, a former Seoul mayor and former Hyundai CEO, sacrificed Koreans' safety in exchange for trade benefits for business circles via the beef agreement.

   Several business tycoons have been on trial or recently convicted of economic crimes. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won was convicted last week of breach of trust by the Supreme Court, which suspended his three-year prison sentence for five years.

   The Seoul High Court was to issue a verdict on Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong-koo on charges of embezzlement.

   The government has previously granted special pardons on national holidays or in the first months of presidential terms.

   hkim@yna.co.kr
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