President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday approved the reinstatement of former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo.
Yoon's move to reinstate the rights of Kim came as part of his decision to grant special pardons for 1,219 convicts on the occasion of Liberation Day which falls on Aug. 15.
Kim’s reinstatement was a contentious issue even before Yoon’s approval.
Han Dong-hoon, chair of the ruling People Power Party, opposed Kim’s reinstatement on the grounds that he refuses to admit his crime, which was a serious offense that undercuts the impartiality of elections. He said that it would be difficult for many people to sympathize with his reinstatement.
The presidential office dismissed Han’s argument. It noted that pardon and reinstatement are the president’s exclusive constitutional right. Conflict seemed likely to flare up between the presidential office and the ruling party. But it did not happen as Han took a step back saying he would not mention the matter anymore now that Yoon had approved Kim’s reinstatement.
Kim lost his gubernatorial job as the Supreme Court upheld a sentence of two years in prison on charges of rigging online public opinions massively in collusion with a political blogger alias Druking to help Moon Jae-in win the 2017 presidential election.
Kim denied all the charges against himself while on trial and after the top court’s ruling he argued that truth was disregarded.
In December 2022 when five months were left of his two-year prison term, Yoon pardoned Kim but did not reinstate him. Even at the time, Kim said that the pardon was “an unwanted gift given to him against his will.”
Now, he is reinstated from Aug. 15., and he will be eligible to run in local elections in 2026 and the presidential election in 2027.
Some supporters of Lee Jae-myung, who is likely to be reelected as leader of the majority opposition Democratic Party of Korea in its national convention, suspect that the reinstatement of Kim, Moon’s close associate, could create cracks in the party and threaten Lee’s leadership.
This concern seems to be unwarranted. For the present, Kim has a slim chance of building a support base strong enough to help him emerge as a presidential candidate of the party. Politicians of the rival parties are keen to see his return to politics but most people are not. Much of the public still doubts it was necessary to reinstate a figure who does not even apologize for his serious crime that undermined the election system which is the foundation of democracy.
Regarding Tuesday’s announcement of pardon and reinstatement, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said they would be a good occasion for social integration and harmony and contribute to public welfare. This is a familiar background explanation that people hear whenever the government issues pardons. People show a lukewarm reaction because the pardon of high-profile politicians and business moguls is distant from public sentiment about law enforcement.
A pardon goes against common sense that all men are equal before the law. It should be conducted according to some convincing and acceptable principles. If pardon and reinstatement are granted under some principles, there would be little room for controversy and national integration would be possible in its truest sense.
Pardoning needs to be banned or its conditions strengthened for certain crimes, for example, grave corruption or election offenses that undermine the root of democracy. When it comes to reinstatement, admission of charges and self-reflection should be prerequisites.
A pardon is an act of invalidating the judiciary’s final judgments so it should be exercised narrowly under principles in order to win public sympathy.
A bill recently proposed by a Democratic Party lawmaker bans the president from pardoning his or her relatives and appointees to posts of political service. Ruling and opposition parties should discuss these and other ideas to establish the principles of pardoning.
