An official at the ruling bloc has denied that main opposition Democratic Party (DP)'s former chairman Lee Jae-myung asked President Yoon Suk Yeol to reinstate former South Gyeongsang Province governor Kim Kyung-soo ahead of his meeting with the president in April.

The official said on Sunday that neither the DP nor Lee made such a request, and the ruling party has never asked for their opinion either on the matter.

The former governor, a close associate of former President Moon Jae-in, was previously pardoned without being reinstated in 2022 while serving a two-year sentence for rigging public opinion. Last week, he was included in the list of people who will receive special presidential pardons and reinstatements around Liberation Day this week.

The official from the ruling bloc said that when Kim was pardoned in December 2022, Kim's reinstatement was a scheduled step for the future, which is why there was no opposition at all during the Justice Ministry's recent review of the candidates for the Liberation Day pardons.

The official, however, added that the DP appears to have made a request recently to the ruling party regarding Kim's reinstatement, but the request had no influence on the ministry's decision.