South Korea just pardoned Samsung's chief for bribing a former president because the country needs him to overcome a 'national economic crisis'

The president of South Korea pardoned the defacto chief of the company because he was too important for the economy.

The Justice Ministry said that Jay Y. Lee was needed to help with the economic crisis.

Key business people were included in the pardons in consideration of their roles in leading national growth through technology investment and job creation, given that the country badly needs to overcome an economic crisis.

Lee was sentenced to two and a half years in prison after being found guilty of paying a bribe to a friend of Park Geun-hye. He wanted the government to back a merger that would give him control of the company. Park, the first female leader in South Korea, was sentenced to 24 years in prison after she was impeached. A year ago, she was pardoned.

The chairman of the Lotte Group, who was sentenced to jail for bribe-taking, was one of the 1,692 people pardoned by the president. Next Monday, the pardons will take effect.

Lee was out on parole after serving 18 months for the charges, so the pardon is mostly symbolic. According to South Korea's Maeil Business News, the conditions of Lee's parole prevented him from taking up new employment for five years and from travelling overseas. Since his father's death in October 2020, Lee's position at the company has remained unfilled.

Lee said that he would do his best for the national economy.

There are still legal troubles for Lee. He is accused of stock manipulation and fraud.

South Korea, like many countries around the world, is facing economic problems from the Ukraine war, soaring inflation, and slow demand.