SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Yonhap) – President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday more than 450,000 people will be granted special pardons on the occasion of the Lunar New Year, including five businesspeople and seven politicians.

Yoon did not name the beneficiaries, saying only that the list was drawn up with a focus on reviving the economy of the people and included exemptions from various administrative penalties levied on drivers, restaurant industry workers, fishermen, and passenger and cargo transport operators.

He was speaking at a Cabinet meeting where the government was set to deliberate on the pardons, four days before the Lunar New Year. The four-day holiday will begin Friday.

The government will continue to take measures helpful to everyday economic activities," he said during the meeting at the presidential office. "I hope these pardons that are being granted ahead of the holiday will add vitality to the people's economies."

In South Korea, the government has often granted special pardons to convicted politicians, business executives and other offenders at the start of a new year or around Liberation Day on Aug. 15 to reward good behavior and foster national harmony.

The pardons are reviewed by a panel at the justice ministry before being sent to a Cabinet meeting for deliberation and then finalized by the president.

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