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Lee Seok-ki, a former left-wing lawmker who had been sent to prison on charges of plotting a rebellion to overthrow the South Korean government in case of a war with North Korea, hugs one of his supporters after being released from a prison in the central city of Daejeon on parole on Dec. 24, 2021. (Yonhap) |
Lee Seok-ki, a former left-wing lawmaker who was imprisoned for plotting a rebellion against the South Korean government in case of a war with North Korea, was released on parole Friday.
Lee was released from a detention center in Daejeon with an ankle bracelet that allows officers to monitor offenders on parole. Previously, Lee refused to wear the ankle bracelet.
Upon his release, Lee criticized the government’s announcement that came earlier in the day, which granted a special pardon to former President Park Geun-hye.
Lee was indicted in September 2013, during the Park’s administration, on charges of conspiring with a clandestine organization to overthrow the government if a war broke out in the Korean Peninsula.
In 2014, Lee was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but a high court remitted the term to nine years. Lee was also given an additional eight-month prison term for embezzling hundreds of million won for his campaigns for a municipal election in 2010 and a gubernatorial election in 2011.
Meanwhile, the main opposition People Power Party strongly criticized the decision to grant parole to Lee.
Won Il-hee, a spokesperson at the election committee of the People Power Party, criticized the Moon Jae-in administration’s decision, saying it is directly against the ruling made by the country’s judiciary.
By Shim Woo-hyun (
ws@heraldcorp.com)
