A return of the spectre of corruption
Sunday, 18 November 2007
Anna Fifield
Throughout the 40-odd years of South Korea's industrialisation, the fastest way to get ahead in politics or business has often been with the help of brown envelopes of cash.
Such practices were supposed to become a thing of the past with the arrival of Roh Moo-hyun as president five years ago. An outsider elected on an anti-establishment platform, Mr Roh pledged to crack down on corruption in business and politics.
While Mr Roh has become increasingly unpopular, he has been credited with making good on his vow to clean up Korean politics. But as Mr Roh nears the end of his term - elections will be held next month and he will leave office in late February - that legacy is fast fading.
A slew of bribery scandals, some of them involving Mr Roh's aides, has underlined the extent to which money still talks in Asia's third-largest economy.
"The Roh Moo-hyun government introduced systems to cut down on corruption but they are still very unstable," says Kim Chong-su, secretary-general of the Council for the Korean Pact on Anti-Corruption and Transparency, a government-linked body.
Corruption remains endemic in Korean society. Company executives describe entertaining government officials on the golf course and adhering to a custom of betting on - and conveniently losing - each hole. Mothers, meanwhile, are known to pay teachers to seat their children at the front of the class. And watchdog Transparency International ranked South Korea 25th out of the world's 30 developed economies in its latest corruption perceptions index.
But the issue has recently taken on sensational proportions with allegations of wide-ranging bribery by Samsung, the country's biggest conglomerate.
Kim Yong-chul, chief of Samsung's legal team until 2004, claimed Samsung's affiliates created billions of won of slush funds managed via executives' bank accounts which were used to lobby prosecutors, finance ministry officials and tax inspectors.
Samsung denies the allegations and has issued a 25-page statement saying it never bribed prosecutors or judges and was not involved in illegal book-keeping.
Meanwhile, Jeon Goon-pyo, commissioner of the National Tax Service, was recently arrested for allegedly taking a Won60m ($66,000) bribe from the head of the provincial Busan tax office in return for giving him a promotion. Mr Jeon, who resigned, has protested his innocence.
The affair was apparently uncovered during an investigation into one of two former presidential aides now in detention after being arrested on suspicion of corruption.
Jung Yun-jae, one of Mr Roh's closest confidants who served as his protocol secretary, was arrested after being accused by prosecutors of receiving money to introduce a real estate developer to the tax authorities in Busan.
Separately, Byeon Yang-kyoon, who was the president's chief secretary for national policy, is in detention as prosecutors investigate allegations that he used his political influence to win favours for his apparent girlfriend.
Both Mr Jung and Mr Byeon deny any wrongdoing.
As the allegations were unfolding, Mr Roh said he had been "left embarrassed and speechless to see two of my secretaries being implicated in scandalous affairs". The president's office later declined to comment.
The role of bribery in official life will garner further attention following the latest announcement that Lee Hoi-chang, a former conservative prime minister and two-time failed presidential candidate, will run in the December election.
Mr Lee has previously been the target of corruption allegations, some relating to his presidential bids, but was cleared.
His main conservative rival is Lee Myung-bak, the Grand National party's official candidate, a former Hyundai Construction chief executive and Seoul mayor who himself is implicated in a financial scandal revolving around a former business partner, although he denies any wrongdoing.
But Chung Dong-young, the leading candidate drawn from Mr Roh's leftwing political camp, has seized on the accusations, calling both Mr Lees corrupt. "All political parties and civic society should join hands to prevent the return of the past, corrupt forces and the backpedalling of our society," he said.
................................
Under syndication
arrangement with FE
Throughout the 40-odd years of South Korea's industrialisation, the fastest way to get ahead in politics or business has often been with the help of brown envelopes of cash.
Such practices were supposed to become a thing of the past with the arrival of Roh Moo-hyun as president five years ago. An outsider elected on an anti-establishment platform, Mr Roh pledged to crack down on corruption in business and politics.
While Mr Roh has become increasingly unpopular, he has been credited with making good on his vow to clean up Korean politics. But as Mr Roh nears the end of his term - elections will be held next month and he will leave office in late February - that legacy is fast fading.
A slew of bribery scandals, some of them involving Mr Roh's aides, has underlined the extent to which money still talks in Asia's third-largest economy.
"The Roh Moo-hyun government introduced systems to cut down on corruption but they are still very unstable," says Kim Chong-su, secretary-general of the Council for the Korean Pact on Anti-Corruption and Transparency, a government-linked body.
Corruption remains endemic in Korean society. Company executives describe entertaining government officials on the golf course and adhering to a custom of betting on - and conveniently losing - each hole. Mothers, meanwhile, are known to pay teachers to seat their children at the front of the class. And watchdog Transparency International ranked South Korea 25th out of the world's 30 developed economies in its latest corruption perceptions index.
But the issue has recently taken on sensational proportions with allegations of wide-ranging bribery by Samsung, the country's biggest conglomerate.
Kim Yong-chul, chief of Samsung's legal team until 2004, claimed Samsung's affiliates created billions of won of slush funds managed via executives' bank accounts which were used to lobby prosecutors, finance ministry officials and tax inspectors.
Samsung denies the allegations and has issued a 25-page statement saying it never bribed prosecutors or judges and was not involved in illegal book-keeping.
Meanwhile, Jeon Goon-pyo, commissioner of the National Tax Service, was recently arrested for allegedly taking a Won60m ($66,000) bribe from the head of the provincial Busan tax office in return for giving him a promotion. Mr Jeon, who resigned, has protested his innocence.
The affair was apparently uncovered during an investigation into one of two former presidential aides now in detention after being arrested on suspicion of corruption.
Jung Yun-jae, one of Mr Roh's closest confidants who served as his protocol secretary, was arrested after being accused by prosecutors of receiving money to introduce a real estate developer to the tax authorities in Busan.
Separately, Byeon Yang-kyoon, who was the president's chief secretary for national policy, is in detention as prosecutors investigate allegations that he used his political influence to win favours for his apparent girlfriend.
Both Mr Jung and Mr Byeon deny any wrongdoing.
As the allegations were unfolding, Mr Roh said he had been "left embarrassed and speechless to see two of my secretaries being implicated in scandalous affairs". The president's office later declined to comment.
The role of bribery in official life will garner further attention following the latest announcement that Lee Hoi-chang, a former conservative prime minister and two-time failed presidential candidate, will run in the December election.
Mr Lee has previously been the target of corruption allegations, some relating to his presidential bids, but was cleared.
His main conservative rival is Lee Myung-bak, the Grand National party's official candidate, a former Hyundai Construction chief executive and Seoul mayor who himself is implicated in a financial scandal revolving around a former business partner, although he denies any wrongdoing.
But Chung Dong-young, the leading candidate drawn from Mr Roh's leftwing political camp, has seized on the accusations, calling both Mr Lees corrupt. "All political parties and civic society should join hands to prevent the return of the past, corrupt forces and the backpedalling of our society," he said.
................................
Under syndication
arrangement with FE