No special amnesty planned for Christmas

SEOUL, December 22 (AJP) - There will be no special amnesty for next week's Christmas and New Year's holidays. According to sources from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Monday, President Lee Jae Myung has not started reviewing year-end pardons.

Such special pardons typically take about a month from the Justice Ministry's review to a final decision.

In August, just two months after taking office, Lee granted pardons to a total of 836,687 people including Cho Kuk, leader of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party serving a prison term for corruption related to his children's university admissions, and Yoon Mi-hyang, former head of a charity for wartime sex slavery victims, who received a three-year suspended sentence for embezzling donations.

For this reason, Lee appears to see little need for another round of pardons.

Nevertheless, parole could be expanded to address overcrowding in correctional facilities. During a briefing from the ministry last week, Lee instructed officials to grant parole when there is no risk of reoffending and victims have been compensated.