(LEAD) Ex-governor, ex-presidential secretary to be included in presidential pardons: sources

A former South Gyeongsang governor and a former presidential secretary are set to be among the beneficiaries of special presidential pardons, which will be granted next week on the occasion of Liberation Day, according to legal sources. The justice ministry's eight-member pardon review committee convened a meeting and decided Thursday to include former South Gyeongsang Gov. Kim Kyoung-soo, a close associate of former President Moon Jae-jin, and Cho Yoon-sun, a former senior presidential secretary for political affairs during the Park Geun-hye administration, they said. Justice Minister Park Sung-jae will soon report the results of the pardon review committee to President Yoon Suk Yeol, who holds the authority to grant pardons. The list will be finalized after approval from the Cabinet at a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday. Yoon plans to grant special pardons primarily to individuals convicted of livelihood-related crimes, among others, in commemoration of the Aug. 15 national holiday. This will mark the fifth round of such special pardons since his inauguration in 2022. Kim, a close confidant of Moon, was previously pardoned in late 2022 while serving a two-year prison term in an online public opinion rigging case. The pardon at that time fell short of reinstating his rights, barring him from running for public office until December 2027. Cho served a prison term of one year and two months in a high-profile blacklisting case involving dissenting cultural figures. The two, if granted pardons, will have their full rights reinstated. Source : Yonhap News Agency