President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is anticipated to press for Lee Myung-pardon, bak's therefore many people are keeping an eye on the situation to see if he would be granted a special pardon before the conclusion of the Moon Jae-in administration.

At their meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, which is anticipated to take place early next week, Moon and Yoon will likely debate the topic of special amnesty for lawmakers, including Lee, who has been imprisoned.

Yong Yoon supports the pardoning of Lee, who served as president from 2008 to 2013. He had previously stated that Lee should be released as soon as possible, referring to him as an "old" man who had once been elected president with the backing of a large number of people and who had played a significant part in the history of Korea. Lee celebrated his 80th birthday in December.

When considering national unity, Yoon has previously stated that Lee's pardon "is the correct (action) for future-oriented politics."

Cheong Wa Dae, on the other hand, has expressed opposition to the idea.

During the pardoning of former President Park Geun-hye in 2014, Lee was not included since he had not fulfilled an adequate amount of his tenure and because popular opinion for the action had been overwhelmingly negative.

Moon, on the other hand, should take a variety of things into consideration. According to a governing party official, if Moon completes his term without pardoning the former president, he may face a political backlash from the public and opposition.

The People Power Party's Kim Ki-Hyun, who is the floor leader of the National Assembly, has advocated for the pardoning of former President Lee Myung-bak as well as Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, in light of the upcoming meeting between President Moon and President-elect Yoon.

"The public's support for Yoon Suk-yeol is to put an end to the division of the camps and usher in a new era of harmony and prosperity via national integration," Kim said on his Facebook page on Monday morning.

His statement stated that it is past time to bring the subject of amnesty and reinstatement for former President Lee and Samsung Vice Chairman Lee to a successful conclusion.

If Moon agrees to Yoon's request, there is a potential that he may award Lee a pardon on Buddha's Birthday holiday, which comes on May 9 this year, a day before the anniversary of Lee's execution.

According to industry observers, the pardon for Lee might be granted in the same manner as the pardons granted to former Presidents Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, which occurred during a regime change.

In a meeting with then-President Kim Young-sam on December 20, 1997, two days after the 15th presidential election, the newly elected President of South Korea Kim Dae-Jung proposed amnesty for the two past presidents. Later, President Kim agreed to accept the suggestion.

Unlike in the past, according to the amnesty legislation, as revised in 2007, the amnesty review committee is required to go through a debate and resolution process before a decision is reached by the President. However, because four of the nine judges on the review committee are appointed by the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution, a pardon will be granted in accordance with President Moon's wishes at some point.

Separately from Lee's pardon, former Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan, who is now serving a five-year jail sentence for receiving a bribe from the National Intelligence Service under the Park Geun-hye government, will be granted parole on Thursday. Choi Ji-sung and Jang Choong-ki, two top executives from Samsung who are now serving jail sentences for their roles in a state affairs manipulation case, will be freed on parole on the same day.

As a result of the investigation, Choi was detained and charged with collecting 100 million won ($80,600) in special costs from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) while serving as Minister in 2014. It was affirmed by the Supreme Court in July of this year that the former minister will serve a five-year jail sentence. Earlier this year, Choi Ji-sung and Jang Choong-ki were each sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail for bribing former President Park and her close friend Choi Seo-won, also known as Choi Soon-Sil at the time of their conviction.