No More Pardoning, Roh Promises

President-elect Roh Moo-hyun would not grant the special pardon to commemorate his inauguration scheduled for Feb. 25th, announced Roh`s spokesperson Lee Nok-hyun yesterday.

Lee explained, "Mr. Roh took into consideration the large-scale pardon granted by the incumbent administration. If necessary, we will grant it even after the inauguration on a case-by-case basis."

President Kim Dae Jung, ever since his swearing-in, pardoned and expunged records of 5,325,850 people so far, the largest ever in kind throughout history. In detail, right upon taking office, he commuted sentencing for 2,304 inmates on March 13, 1998. He also granted the special pardon and expunged criminal records of 31,581 people convicted of misdemeanor charges. Moreover, he cleared out the traffic violation records of 5,325,850 people, and commuted or pardoned 6,565 people convicted in the court-martial.

Jeong-Hun Kim jnghn@donga.com