President Moon Jae-in says he will gather views from across society before deciding whether to pardon Lee Jae-yong, the imprisoned de facto leader of Samsung Group found guilty of bribing the former President Park Geun-hye.

He made the comments in a reply during a televised anniversary press conference on Monday. Recognizing that granting pardons falls under his presidential authority, Moon emphasized that such a decision is not one that should be made lightly. He said he would make a call after sufficiently giving ear to the opinions of the people.

He said he had already received calls for a pardon of the Samsung scion, not only from business circles but also those in the religious community. Moon recognized the need to enhance the global competitiveness of Korea's semiconductor industry led by Samsung. He also cited the need to consider fairness, past precedents and public consensus.

On the prospect of pardoning former conservative presidents Park and Lee Myung-bak, both serving prison terms for corruption, he said the opinion is divided. Calling their imprisonment at a late age an unfortunate reality for the country, he said he would decide based on justice, fairness and public consensus.