PAROLE BOARD MEETING ON LEE JAE-YONG

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A parole board meeting is taking place today to determine whether Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong should be released from prison. Eyes are on what the nine-member board will decide amid split public opinion on Lee's potential parole.

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The justice ministry’s parole review board met today at the Government Complex Gwacheon to select the parolees for the upcoming Liberation Day Holiday. Lee Jae-yong who is currently incarcerated at Seoul Detention Center is reportedly on the list of possible parolees. Lee was sentenced to two years and six months last January for his involvement in a bribery and corruption scandal. He has served about 60% of his prison term, satisfying the legal requirements for parole. The review board is headed by Vice Justice Minister Kang Sung-kook and is comprised of eight other members. They will select the parolees who have undergone preliminary screening at individual correctional facilities. They first examine an inmate’s age, motive, crime, prison term, and prison behavior. They then vote on whether the inmate should be released on parole. Parole requires the attendance of more than half of registered board members and a majority vote by them. The list of possible parolees is then reviewed by the justice minister before he gives his final approval. If Lee’s parole is approved, he is expected to be released from prison on August 13th. However, according to the Act of Aggravated Punishment for Specific Economic Crimes under which he was sentenced, he will not be able to work for five years after his sentence ends. He can engage in economic activities only with a special approval from the minister. Meanwhile, some civic groups are strongly opposing Lee’s potential parole and calling it preferential treatment. They claim that he committed a serious crime of meddling in government affairs. They also say that Lee's parole could influence his other trials on alleged illegal succession of management rights and illegal administering of propofol. Business circles, however, are demanding a pardon rather than a parole for Lee, saying that his role is crucial in the global semiconductor competition.