Seoul: Former minor party leader Cho Kuk is being considered as a potential beneficiary of presidential pardons to be announced ahead of Liberation Day next week, sources said Thursday, raising the possibility of his early release from prison. Cho, who had led the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, is currently serving a two-year prison term after the Supreme Court in December upheld his conviction for academic fraud involving his children and unlawful interference with a government inspection.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Cho has been included in the special pardon list to be reviewed by a justice ministry committee later in the day before it is finalized and approved at a Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday. Considering that the list is formed based on talks between the presidential office and the ministry, it would be highly unlikely for the committee to exclude Cho from the finalized list.
Moon, the former president, called for Cho's pardon when he met Woo Sang-ho, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, Tuesday. Other high-profile figures who might be considered for next week's pardons include Cho Hee-yeon, former superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.
Cho lost his seat as superintendent last year after the Supreme Court upheld a suspended term against him on charges of abuse of power in connection with the reinstatement of dismissed teachers. Special pardons, which are among the president's inherent powers, have often been granted to convicted politicians, business executives and other offenders at the start of a new year or around Liberation Day to reward good behavior and foster national harmony.