Former President¡¯s son to be pardoned

President Kim Dae-Jung has confirmed the list of people to be granted amnesty on the occasion of Liberation Day Aug. 15, which includes his predecessor Kim Young-Sam`s second son, Hyon-Chol, and top aide, Hong In-Kil, government sources said August 3.

A high-ranking ruling camp official said President Kim, after serious deliberation, decided to include Hyon-Chol and former lawmaker Hong in the list of the convicts benefiting from the presidential amnesty to contribute to consolidating harmony among the people.

The former president¡¯s son, who was convicted of illegally intervening in state affairs and is now on probation, will be granted amnesty, while Hong will be pardoned and reinstated. It was also learned that the government included in the amnesty list many former lawmakers convicted of violating election laws in the April general polls who were stripped of their National Assembly membership.

They include Lee Ki-Moon of the then Democratic Party; Lee Myung-Bak, Choi Woo-Cheol, Lee Shin-Haeng and Hong Jun-Pyo of the Grand National Party; Cho Chong-Suk and Kim Hwa-Nam of the United Liberal Democrats and the GNP`s Park Kye-Dong, who was ordered to pay a fine of 6 million won for violating the law by holding an outdoor rally after he failed in his general election bid.