South Korean President Lee Myung-bak cited the contributions he could offer to South Korea's efforts to draw the Winter Olympics in 2018 to the city of Pyeongchang.

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This will make it easier for him to promote South Korea's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

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Lee Kun-hee, the chairman of Samsung, received a similar pardon in 2009, having been found guilty of tax evasion, and was picked to front South Korea's bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

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Mike Lee is the chairman of Verocom, an organization which has successfully overseen campaigns to bring the Games to Rio in 2016, the Winter Olympics to Pyongchang in 2018 and the FIFA World Cup to Qatar in 2022.

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