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South Korean President Lee Myung Bak on Aug. 12 pardoned some 342,000 people convicted of white-collar crimes and minor offenses, including 74 business leaders, the president’s office announced. Just as it did in 2007, Seoul explained this year’s pardoning of members of key Korean family-owned business giants, known as chaebols, as a move to help rejuvenate the struggling South Korean economy. The aim is to free up the senior management of the country’s largest companies to reinvigorate the economy and create new jobs. Notable examples of those pardoned include Hyundai Motor Chairman Chung Mong Koo, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae Won and Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung Youn.

This year’s amnesty list serves multiple political and economic purposes, and it confirms Lee’s intent to revive South Korea’s tried and tested “chaebol-centric” economic growth model.

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