South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol granted a pardon for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee to help overcome a "national economic crisis," South Korea's Justice Ministry said on Friday.

"With urgent needs to overcome the national economic crisis, we carefully selected economic leaders who lead the national growth engine through active technology investment and job creation to be pardoned," Justice Minister Han Dong Hoon told a briefing. 

Also pardoned was Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin.

Former President Lee Myung-bak was not included in the list.