The Justice Ministry will decide next week on a list of people convicted of crimes who will be recommended for presidential pardons ahead of the new year. 

According to legal circles on Friday, Justice Minister Park Beom-kye will convene a meeting of the ministry’s pardons committee next Monday and Tuesday. 

Once the committee comes up with the list, the justice minister will give a related briefing to President Moon Jae-in and then the president will make the decision to exercise his right to grant special pardons following a Cabinet meeting. 

The list is expected to mostly include people who are behind bars for minor crimes. 

Politicians, including former presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, as well as Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of Samsung Group, are unlikely to be included on the list, which is expected to be disclosed at the end of the month. 

These pardons will be Moon’s last before the end of his term in May next year. The incumbent government has granted special pardons on four occasions.