No amnesty soon for Chun, Roh, says Kim
No amnesty soon for Chun, Roh, says Kim
SEOUL (Reuter): South Korean President Kim Young-sam ruled out yesterday an immediate amnesty for former presidents Chun Doo- hwan and Roh Tae-woo, who were jailed for mutiny, treason and corruption, a Kim aide said.
The aide said Kim was responding to a suggestion by Lee Hoi- chang, candidate of Kim's ruling New Korea Party for presidential elections in December, that the president announce a clemency order for Chun and Roh within two weeks.
The Supreme Court in April upheld a lower appeals court decision last December to commute Chun's death sentence to life in jail and Roh's 22-1/2 year prison term to 17 years for their roles in a 1979 coup and an army massacre in 1980.
"President Kim believes any amnesty for Mr. Chun and Roh requires a public consensus in advance that such a step is needed," said the aide who asked not to be identified.
"The president will probably grant amnesty for them before his term expires but he made it very clear that he had no plan to do so any time soon," he said.
Kim, who is barred from seeking re-election, is due to end his five-year term in February.
A spokesman of the ruling party said Monday that Lee would formally ask Kim in their scheduled meeting tomorrow to grant an amnesty for the two disgraced ex-presidents.
The move was aimed at promoting "grand unity" among various political and social groups before the December elections, he said.
Political analysts said Kim's response underscored a lack of communication between the president and Lee, who was trying to boost his chances in December elections by appealing to conservatives.
Lee's popularity has plunged since opposition parties alleged late in July that his two sons deliberately lost weight to avoid the mandatory 30 months military service.
Lee has acknowledged his sons were exempted from the service because they were underweight, but he denied they took steps to lose weight.
Lee, a former supreme court judge, had been widely tipped to win in the elections but recent popularity polls have shown him lagging behind Kim Dae-jung, candidate for the main opposition National Congress for New Politics.
The former presidents were found guilty last year of staging a coup that thrust then-army general Chun into power and leading an army massacre in the southwestern city of Kwangju that crushed democratic opposition.