Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan has asked the presidential office to conditionally release top businessmen in prison as part of an ongoing effort to revive the sluggish economy, a government source said Thursday.

The Finance Ministry official, who declined to be identified, said the minister had made several comments in public and talked with reporters about the need to parole or even pardon leading businessmen.

“Since he made the comments on numerous occasions Choi may have conveyed this view to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae,” he said.

On criticism that pardoning businessmen who committed a crime may be viewed as the government showing favoritism, the official said the government’s stance is not to overlook mistakes and not punish offenses but to look at the broader picture.

“Taking an ‘overly’ strict stance on businessmen does not help facilitate an economic recovery,” he pointed out.

South Korea’s many large conglomerates are effectively run by families or “owners” and their absence from the day-to-day running of the companies has on many occasions slowed down key decisions, such as making big investments. (Yonhap)