The Yoon Suk Yeol administration announced its first special presidential pardons ahead of next week's Liberation Day holiday, which included business leaders and offenders convicted of petty crimes.

One-thousand-693 offenders approved by the Cabinet on Friday will receive the first Liberation Day pardons in six years, including Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin.

Lee, who was released on parole last year and whose two-and-a-half-year sentence for bribery was up late last month, will also see a five-year restriction on his employment lifted.

Former President Lee Myung-bak, who was temporarily released in June due to health concerns while serving a 17-year sentence on corruption charges, was not granted a pardon as the administration shied away from considering politicians in an attempt to avoid stoking controversy amid the president’s dismal approval rating.

The government explained that, in focusing on economic recovery and improving people's livelihoods when considering grantees, 32 SME business owners or small merchants who had committed a crime amid economic misfortune were specifically selected.

Eight others found guilty of labor-management crimes were also put on the pardons list, while 649 well-behaved prisoners will be released on parole.