Power and Corruption
By Sah Dong-seok
Deputy Managing Editor
I differed with my wife on a specific issue late last year when then President Roh Moo-hyun was about to wrap up his five-year term. ``That can't be …'' This was my reaction when we talked about the possibility of Roh's elder brother, Roh Geon-pyeong, being behind bars on corruption charges after the former president retired from office.
Given the past lessons where many sons or close relatives of almost all past presidents had been arrested, I thought it would be different this time, especially with the belief that the Roh government, albeit incompetent, wouldn't at least have been corrupt. My belief was all the more firm because the elder Roh, the constant subject of government surveillance for possible corruption connections while his brother was in office, had been issued warnings several times.
My wife proved to be right in early December when Roh Geon-pyeong was arrested for taking billions of won in bribes in exchange for influence peddling in the controversial purchase of a small securities company by Nonghyup, the nation's largest farmers' organization. She was 100 percent sure about the criminal punishment of the elder brother, recalling our historical lessons ― all family members of the most powerful who had been the talk of the town for certain influence peddling scandals went to jail without fail.
The detention of families of past presidents after the end of their terms has become a ritual over the last 20 years. In 1988, the two brothers of former President Chun Doo-hwan, the general-turned-dictator, were arrested for embezzlement and influence peddling, respectively. Two of Chun's cousins and a brother-in-law were also punished for tax evasion and embezzlement. Chun's successor, Roh Tae-woo, saw his daughter and her spouse, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, questioned for taking $200,000 out of the country in 1994. Park Chul-un, nephew of Roh's wife Park Ok-sook, also served a jail term for his involvement in a gambling machine scandal.
Kim Hyun-cheol, son of former President Kim Young-sam who took office in 1993, was convicted of taking bribes and evading taxes in 1997, one year after his father stepped down. The younger Kim, often called the ``Little President,'' was arrested again in 2004 for receiving two billion won in illegal political funding.
Kim Dae-jung, Roh's predecessor, suffered humiliation in the waning days of his term, witnessing two of his three sons arrested on charges of receiving bribes. The first son of the nation's only Nobel Prize laureate was also indicted without physical detention for violating the political fund law later.
In South Korea, the Confucian country, the history of corruption is long and the severity of graft is deep, and such malpractice is still rampant, especially in officialdom. According to Transparency International in September, South Korea ranked 40th among the world's 180 nations in its corruption perception index ― a disappointing result given it being the world's 13th largest economy. The index measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.
Foreigners here also gave failing marks to the integrity of Korean government officials. A survey conducted by Research Plus at the request of the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission showed that more than half of foreigners believe Korean civil servants are ``corrupt.'' Nearly 58 percent replied that corruption caused them to have to deal with serious problems in doing business.
Malfeasance is not confined to the public sector. Private companies often offer bribes and overseas golf tours to win or maintain contracts, and many of them still rely on kickbacks to get what they want in other nations. According to an international survey of business executives released by Transparency International in early December, out of 22 countries, South Korea ranked 14th along with Taiwan and South Africa in an index intending to show the likelihood of a country's firms offering bribes while doing buisness in foreign countries.
What would be the best way to uproot corruption? First of all, harsh punishment should be in store for those involved in graft cases. Specifically, there will have to be an institutional framework encouraging public servants to change their perceptions about officialdom ― they have to be those who serve the people.
Corruption and power are inseparable as English historian Lord Acton put it: ``Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely.'' Given the abuse of power arising from the current presidential system that allows the president to wield enormous power, it might be high time to consider introducing the Westminsiter-style parliamentary cabinet system envisioning the division of power.
These days I've seen an evil omen, looking at domestic political circles where the lawmaker brother of President Lee Myung-bak has been on the lips of people amid rumors of his possible involvement in various influence peddling allegations. At the moment, he vehemently denies the possibility of his involvement, terming the allegations as rumors. Thinking of our historic lessons, however, I have the hunch that the elder brother may plead his innocence four years from now. I hope that I will be wrong this time.