Vocabulary
pardon = [pahr-dn] forgiveness of a serious offense or offender.
former = [fawr-mer] preceding in order; being the first of two. The former president of South Korea.
convicted = [kon-vikt] to prove or declare guilty of an offense, esp. after a legal trial.
evasion = [i-vey-zhuh n] to escape or avoid something
bid = [bid] to invite
host = [hohst] a person who receives or entertains guests at home or elsewhere
granted = [grahnted] to give or accord; bestow
raised = [reyzd] to bring up or ask
yield = [yeeld] to give in, to give up
prominent = [prom-uh-nuh nt] leading, important, or well-known: a prominent citizen.
urging = [urj-ing] to endeavor to induce or persuade, as by entreaties; entreat or exhort earnestly
bidding = [bid-ing] to offer (a certain sum) as the price one will pay or charge: They bid $25,000 and got the contract.
against = [uh-genst] in opposition to; contrary to; adverse or hostile to: twenty votes against ten; against reason.

South Korea pardons Samsung's ex-chief Lee Kun-hee
The South Korean government has decided to pardon the powerful former chairman of Samsung, convicted for tax evasion, the justice ministry has said.
Lee Kun-hee is to be pardoned so he can return to the International Olympics Committee and help South Korea's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Mr. Lee was pardoned on a separate funding conviction in 1997.
Presidential pardons are often granted to leaders of South Korea's large, family-owned businesses or "chaebols".
"This decision was made so that Lee could take back his place at the International Olympic Committee and form a better situation for the 2018 Olympics to take place in Pyongchang," justice minister Lee Kwi-nam told reporters, following a cabinet meeting that approved the latest pardon.
South Korea's Yonhap news agency said the pardon raised questions about the rule of law in a country where family-run chaebols still yield a lot of power.
Mr. Lee, 67, is widely regarded as the country's most prominent businessman. Trade lobby and sports groups had been urging the president to pardon him, Yonhap reported.
South Korea has tried two times so far to host the Winter Olympics in the mountain resort of Pyongchang, and is bidding again, against Munich in Germany and Annecy in France.