Kang, who arrived in the United States as a student in 1974, was running a stand at the rough-and-tumble Maxwell Street Market when an undercover Chicago police officer stopped by in October 1984 and purchased some fake Rolex and Omega watches, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office.
A South Barrington man said he had all but given up hope of clearing his name when word arrived that President George Bush had pardoned him Tuesday for selling cheap knock-off watches at the old Maxwell Street Market in Chicago nearly 25 years ago.
"I didn't believe it," said James Won Hee Kang, 66, a naturalized citizen born in South Korea who owns a golf shop in Morton Grove.
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan, now serving a prison sentence on federal fraud, racketeering and related charges, was not on the president's clemency list.
Before leaving for the holidays Bush also commuted the prison sentence of a drug offender and granted 18 other pardons.
Kang, who arrived in the United States as a student in 1974, was running a stand at the rough-and-tumble Maxwell Street Market when an undercover Chicago police officer stopped by in October 1984 and purchased some fake Rolex and Omega watches, according to a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office.
Charged in U.S. District Court with one count of trafficking in counterfeit goods, Kang was sentenced by a federal judge in May 1985 to a year's probation. He paid a $5,000 fine, and records show he was released from probation in good standing just a month later.
"I told customers these were not real," Kang said, adding that he sold "toy" Rolexes for just $7. "We were not fooling anybody."
But he said he pleaded guilty and paid the fine because it was just the easiest way to deal with federal agents. He thought that would be the end of it.
In 1989, Kang helped form Foster Bank, which was founded by Korean-American businessmen and catered to that community. He served on the board of directors and later was on the loan committee.
A reorganization several years later triggered background checks by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., according to Kang's lawyer, Kie-Young Shim of Northbrook.
The old charge turned up, and Kang was forced to leave the board.
"He was a hardworking Korean-American," Shim said. "He worked 10, 14 hours a day."
Shim, a longtime friend, suggested that he apply for the pardon to clear his name -- and his record. They applied for the pardon in 2002.
"I forgot about it," said Kang, who is married and has a son.
Then the unexpected news arrived from the president of his adopted country.
Christmas is bound to be special this year for Kang, who is active in Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Long Grove.
Asked if the pardon was a good present, he said, "Yes! Yes!"
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