President Lee Myung-bak said on Monday this year's Liberation Day amnesty will solely be for convicted farmers, fishermen and small business owners whose petty crimes have made it difficult to make ends meet. "The administration wants to help in particular those whose jobs are linked to driving who have had their driver's licenses suspended or revoked," he said.
For people whose sole car is their only source of income, having their driver's licenses revoked is like stripping them of their livelihood. We need to pardon traffic violations committed mistakenly by people taking their kids to school or selling vegetables on the backs of trucks in urban neighborhoods. There is nothing wrong with the government's wish to help such people.
The government offered special pardons in May last year to 2.82 million people so that they could make ends meet. As far as amnesties go, this government is following in the exact footsteps of the previous government. In 2005, commemorating the 60th anniversary of Korea's liberation, the Roh Moo-hyun administration granted special pardons to 4.2 million violators of traffic regulations. To mark his inauguration, former president Kim Dae-jung pardoned 5.52 million people, and another 4.81 million for the 2002 World Cup. So now Koreans expect to be forgiven their traffic violations every time a new president is inaugurated or on Liberation Day
Pardons must be granted only in special circumstances. A case in point is the amnesty granted to Kim Hyun-hee, the terrorist responsible for the Korean Air bombing in 1987. The pardon was granted because Kim was the sole witness who could reveal the identities of those behind the bombing and the reasons why. But past presidents have abused the amnesties as a means to free close confidants, politicians and major business leaders who had been jailed for corruption.
If such amnesties led to the privileged class having less respect for the law, the mass pardons for traffic offenders had the same effect on the whole of society. If pardons for traffic offenders are granted regularly, drivers will naturally feel less need to obey traffic rules. Following the pardon of 5.52 million traffic offenders in 1998, Korea saw a 15.1 percent rise in traffic accidents the following year. The same happened after the special pardons granted in 2002 and 2005. And a rise in accidents led to rises in insurance fees, resulting in higher financial burdens on consumers. Korea pays a W10 trillion (US$1=W1,244) bill each year for hospital fees and car repair costs due to traffic accidents. Police crack down on traffic violations, while courts issue punishments to minimize such costs. Yet special pardons that are granted regularly mean such efforts go to waste.
The excessive granting of pardons damages respect for the law. That is why advanced countries tightly regulate such measures. Over the past 60 years, Germany has offered only four amnesties. Germany's constitutional court has stipulated that the only cases allowing special pardons are to rectify mistakes committed in an investigation or a problem in the application of law. In 2007, the Korean government modified its special pardon process, appointing a nine-member panel, including four people from outside the government, to review special pardons. But experts say that is not enough.
Previous administrations sought to win the hearts and minds of the public by offering special pardons, but such support does not last very long. The Liberation Day amnesty must be limited to those who really need it to support their family.