Are there any corners in Korea free from irregularities?
There can be various angles from which one can see the resignation Wednesday by Ahn Dae-hee, who was nominated for prime minister. Preceding all those social and political analyses, however, is the bitter realization that there are no sectors in this country that are not corrupt and crooked.
It's more sad than maddening that Ahn ― a former prosecutor who earned popular support for his strict handling of corrupt politicians in both ruling and opposition parties ― fell into the same trap even before he puts one foot into politics.
Ahn's income of 1.6 billion won ($1.5 million) in just five months of practicing as a court lawyer, earning 10 million won a day, may not be unusual for the former Supreme Court justice.
Making this possible is a unique system within the judiciary circles called ''jeon-gwan-ye-u" (respectful treatment of predecessors), in which sitting judges and prosecutors help their former bosses or colleagues who became lawyers upon retirement win cases in the first few years of the latter's opening law offices. And the prosecutor- or judge-turned-lawyers' incomes go up in proportion to their former ranks.
This is a grave crime, shaking the very foundation of judicial justice. What else can one call such acts if the three main judicial players can collude to adjust sentences or even turn innocents into criminals, and vice versa, in some extreme cases as a result of the time-dishonored practice in this particular sector? And how can these former judges and prosecutors come forward to sever collusive links in other corners of society, namely the bureaucracy and politics?
The latest fiasco reveals, yet again, serious defects in Cheong Wa Dae's vetting system in appointment. If the Blue House chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon, and his men had not known about Ahn's rapid amassing of wealth, these secretaries were committing the dereliction of their most basic duty. Had they known it, but thought it an ''usual practice," these officials have standards foreign to ordinary people with respect to public officials' ethics and justifiable rewards of labor.
Ahn became the second prime minister nominee who had to bow out even before the opening of confirmation hearings, and there are 10 or more ministerial designates who failed to win parliamentary approval, during the 15 months President Park Geun-hye has been in office. President Park is famous, or infamous, for her reluctance to dismiss the officials she picked, but if the chief executive is really serious about changing her governance, it should begin with herself and her aides in the presidential office.
Since inauguration, Park has relied on people from legal, military and bureaucratic circles who are good at hierarchal order and management from the top, hardly befitting the increasingly diversified, innovative world of today. Worse yet, most of them are from one region ― the two southeastern provinces ― and at the top of it is her chief of staff.
The only way for the president to get out of this quagmire is to select experts from various fields, regardless of regions and even political beliefs. At stake is if Park is ready for this and, if so, she can break the resistance from the power elite and overall establishment.
Right now, Koreans are not even sure which of the two ifs are bigger one.
There can be various angles from which one can see the resignation Wednesday by Ahn Dae-hee, who was nominated for prime minister. Preceding all those social and political analyses, however, is the bitter realization that there are no sectors in this country that are not corrupt and crooked.
It's more sad than maddening that Ahn ― a former prosecutor who earned popular support for his strict handling of corrupt politicians in both ruling and opposition parties ― fell into the same trap even before he puts one foot into politics.
Ahn's income of 1.6 billion won ($1.5 million) in just five months of practicing as a court lawyer, earning 10 million won a day, may not be unusual for the former Supreme Court justice.
Making this possible is a unique system within the judiciary circles called ''jeon-gwan-ye-u" (respectful treatment of predecessors), in which sitting judges and prosecutors help their former bosses or colleagues who became lawyers upon retirement win cases in the first few years of the latter's opening law offices. And the prosecutor- or judge-turned-lawyers' incomes go up in proportion to their former ranks.
This is a grave crime, shaking the very foundation of judicial justice. What else can one call such acts if the three main judicial players can collude to adjust sentences or even turn innocents into criminals, and vice versa, in some extreme cases as a result of the time-dishonored practice in this particular sector? And how can these former judges and prosecutors come forward to sever collusive links in other corners of society, namely the bureaucracy and politics?
The latest fiasco reveals, yet again, serious defects in Cheong Wa Dae's vetting system in appointment. If the Blue House chief of staff, Kim Ki-choon, and his men had not known about Ahn's rapid amassing of wealth, these secretaries were committing the dereliction of their most basic duty. Had they known it, but thought it an ''usual practice," these officials have standards foreign to ordinary people with respect to public officials' ethics and justifiable rewards of labor.
Ahn became the second prime minister nominee who had to bow out even before the opening of confirmation hearings, and there are 10 or more ministerial designates who failed to win parliamentary approval, during the 15 months President Park Geun-hye has been in office. President Park is famous, or infamous, for her reluctance to dismiss the officials she picked, but if the chief executive is really serious about changing her governance, it should begin with herself and her aides in the presidential office.
Since inauguration, Park has relied on people from legal, military and bureaucratic circles who are good at hierarchal order and management from the top, hardly befitting the increasingly diversified, innovative world of today. Worse yet, most of them are from one region ― the two southeastern provinces ― and at the top of it is her chief of staff.
The only way for the president to get out of this quagmire is to select experts from various fields, regardless of regions and even political beliefs. At stake is if Park is ready for this and, if so, she can break the resistance from the power elite and overall establishment.
Right now, Koreans are not even sure which of the two ifs are bigger one.
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