Political parties showed mixed reactions to the Justice Ministry’s announcement on Monday to parole Lee Jae-yong, the de facto leader of the Samsung Group in prison.

Lee, vice chairman of Samsung Electronics, has been serving time after receiving a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence by the Seoul High Court on Jan. 18 in a retrial of a bribery case involving former President Park Geun-hye.

"The ministry considered the country's economic situation and the conditions of the global economy amid the prolonged Covid-19 pandemic as factors behind the decision," Justice Minister Park Beom-kye said in a briefing. "We also considered other factors, including social sentiment, and Lee's behaviors and attitudes."

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) said that it respected the ministry's decision. "We respect the decision made by the Ministry of Justice in consideration of the requirements and procedures for parole," ruling Democratic Party spokesperson Lee So-young said. "We hope Samsung will play a more active role in securing vaccines and solving semiconductor problems."

However, the comment has received fierce backlash from opposition parties, which said the DP spokesperson's comments sounded as if the ruling party demanded the Samsung heir acquire Covid-19 vaccines now that the government granted him parole.

"The Moon Jae-in administration today declared that money could also be a skill," said Oh Hyun-joo, the spokesperson for the leftist Justice Party. "I can't contain my anger at the fact that South Korea is still the 'Republic of Samsung' and that the law has no meaning in front of the 0.01 percent chaebol."

Today's decision is an act of trampling on the values of fairness, equality, and justice that the Moon Jae-in administration had promised to the people, Oh added.

Open Democratic Party Vice Spokesperson Chung Yun-hee stressed that the “government made a wrong decision” and the party could never agree with it.

Some citizens also pointed out that the vaccine supply is the administration’s duty, saying it is unreasonable to hand over such obligations to a business tycoon.

"What would have happened to Korea if it had not been for Samsung?" Lee Jung-pyo, an office worker, 32, told Korea Biomedical Review. "I don't know why the government is asking Lee Jae-yong to secure the vaccines."

It is the government's job to take care of vaccines and the economy, he added.

Lee stressed that asking Lee Jae-yong to take care of the most important problems facing the government is an open acknowledgment that the government regards the Samsung heir as an actual leader.

The main opposition People Power Party was the only political party that welcomed the decision.

"It's a meaningful decision," PPP Spokesperson Jun Joo-hye said. "I hope the parole will serve as a new opportunity to prepare for the future and work hard to revive the economy."

Lee has played an active role in securing Covid-19 vaccines in the past.

In April, for instance, local media outlets reported that Lee had played a key role in facilitating talks between the Korean government and Pfizer to secure 20 million more doses of vaccines.

While the Moon Jae-in government had no channels with the top managers of the U.S. vaccine developer until early December last year, Lee used his personal network and sought the help of Shantanu Narayen, chairman of the U.S. computer software company Adobe, who was an independent director of Pfizer.

According to local reports, Narayen introduced Lee to the head of Pfizer's vaccine business, providing the Korean government with a way to launch negotiations.

However, as Vice Chairman Lee is on conditional parole rather than a pardon for his sentence, it is unclear how effectively he will secure more vaccines. In addition, he is bound to be subject to restrictions such as a ban on overseas business trips, political watchers said.

Also, the existing employment restrictions will remain in effect even if Lee gets paroled.

According to Korean laws, a person sentenced to imprisonment for embezzlement or breach of trust of more than 500 million won ($435,540) and has received a prison sentence cannot work for a company closely related to the convicted criminal offense.

In addition, as the status of parole is strictly restricted from overseas travel, it will be difficult for Vice Chairman Lee to handle overseas business trips smoothly or participate in Samsung's overall management due to another ongoing trial related to Lee’s propofol administration and an illegal merger between Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, they said.