Former minor party leader Cho Kuk included on special pardon list for Liberation Day: sources

Former minor party leader Cho Kuk has been included on a list of potential beneficiaries 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.

Whether Cho, who served as a senior aide to former President Moon Jae-in and a justice minister in 2019, would be a possible beneficiary of next week's special pardons -- the first under President Lee Jae Myung since he took office in June -- has been a focus of political blocs and local media in recent weeks.

According to legal sources, a justice ministry committee held a meeting earlier in the day and decided to include Cho on the special pardon list, which is expected to be 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 being considered for next week's pardons include Cho Hee-yeon, former superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

Legal sources confirmed Cho has been included on the special pardon list reviewed by the justice ministry's pardon committee.

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.

Also included on the list were former lawmakers Jung Chan-min, serving a seven-year prison term for bribery, and Hong Moon-jong convicted of embezzlement and bribery.

Former Gyeonggi Province Vice Gov. Lee Hwa-young, who was convicted of accepting bribes from underwear maker Ssangbangwool Group and involvement in an unauthorized remittance case to North Korea, was excluded from the list.

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. (Yonhap)