2 ex-Samsung execs excluded from upcoming presidential pardons: sources

Two former executives of Samsung Group, who were sentenced to prison in connection with an influence-peddling scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye, will not be included in the list of beneficiaries of upcoming presidential pardons, sources said Wednesday.

President Yoon Suk Yeol has been considering granting special pardons to a number of people on the occasion of Aug. 15 Liberation Day. This would be the third time Yoon has granted presidential pardons since taking office in May last year.

According to the sources, the justice ministry’s review committee excluded Choi Gee-sung, a former head of Samsung’s now-disbanded control tower Future Strategy Office, and his former deputy, Chang Choong-ki, from Liberation Day pardons in a meeting held earlier in the day.

The two former Samsung executives were sentenced to prison terms in connection with a massive influence-peddling scandal that led to Park’s ouster in 2016. Both were released from prison last year on parole.

The committee made the decision reportedly because both are currently standing trial in a separate case involving the controversial 2015 merger of two Samsung affiliates, Samsung C&T Corp. and Cheil Industries Inc.

An Chong-bum, a former senior presidential secretary for policy coordination under the Park administration, and former Second Vice Culture Minister Kim Chong were also not included.

The committee also approved pardons for several big-name businesspeople, including Park Chan-koo, honorary chairman of Kumho Petrochemical Group, and Lee Joong-keun, founder of Booyoung Group.