ed Buying off protesters

It’s not rare to see civilians offer bribes to public officials in connection with public-works projects, but it’s unusual for civil servants to provide kickbacks to civilians. In Korea, however, one such case has surfaced.

The National Police Agency last week stripped Lee Hyun-hee of his position as police chief in Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, for allegedly offering cash bribes to local residents over the Chuseok holidays. Lee was accused of handing out, through his subordinates, envelopes filled with amounts of between 1 million and 5 million won to seven local residents to soften their protests against the government’s plan to build high-voltage power transmission towers in Cheongdo.

According to the police agency, which is conducting an internal investigation, Lee contacted the regional branch of the Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), the state utility company in charge of the construction project, and asked its officials for the money. If these findings turn out to be correct, it’s dumbfounding that a senior police officer would betray the public’s trust in this manner.

During questioning later, KEPCO officials denied the money came from the electricity company, claiming instead that they had raised 17 million won from their own personal funds to compensate local residents. But their claims sound unconvincing. Another possibility, some observers suggest, is that KEPCO’s headquarters may have stashed away slush funds to keep protesters quiet.

KEPCO resumed its power transmission project in Cheongdo in July, after having halted it for nearly two years in the face of strong opposition from residents. Even after construction resumed, residents staged protests and some even risked arrest to stop the project from going ahead.

Without a doubt, a police chief is tasked with protecting people’s lives and property and must therefore remain neutral on controversial projects. Attempting to buy off protesters is a criminal act that will bring disgrace both to the police and to KEPCO if this is what in fact happened.

The bribery case is certain to undermine the credibility of state projects and deepen conflicts surrounding them. Simultaneously, it will have a profoundly negative impact on law enforcement across the country.

This incident also raises an alarm concerning our primitive conflict-management capabilities, especially those of Korea’s public organizations. Too often they resort to abuses of power or undue influence instead of dialogue.

The lesson from this case is that it’s critical to ensure transparency whenever the government carries out public-works projects. Secret backdoor deals won’t achieve success any longer.

The police are widening their probe, and are now focusing on the source of the money. Whoever took part in this scandal must be punished severely.