[Opinion] Dedication of Politicians’ Wives

It is often the case that the dedication of a wife makes her husband a successful politician. One good example is the wife of a retired ex-minister. This lady, from her husband’s appointment as a low-ranking official, kept a close eye on what was going on in the higher-ups’ homes. She volunteered as a baby-sitter and even a “handyman” to the higher-ups benefit. One day, as a token of appreciation, one wife of those high-ups asked whether there was anything she could help with. The dedicated wife told her wishes, and the wishes came true. From that time on, her husband’s position climbed up day by day to that of a minister.

▷ON the other hand, there are quite a number of wives who took advantage of their husbands’ positions. It is often found in cases where wives “sacrifice” themselves only for the glory of their husbands. The wives need some “quid pro quo.” One illuminating example is the ’99 “Apparel Lobbying” case. People gossiped about the luxurious meetings held by ministers’ wives. It finally led to the “Apparel Lobbying,” which in turn boiled the whole country for a while. The public turned their back on the government, watching ministers’ wives take such expensive coats in the name of gift. Probably, the crisis for the Kim administration started from that point.

▷Last year when her husband (Lim, Chang-Yol) was in office as governor of Kyunggi Province, it transpired, Choo Hey-Ran took 100 million won (approximately $800,000) in bribe. In return, she pulled strings and helped the constructor of Boondang Parkview Apartment complex get the construction permit. Choo actually has a long history. In 1999, she hosted a luxury birthday party, at the Governor’s Resident, for former governor Lim with some 100 luminaries on hand. She was even arrested for taking huge bribes from a bank, which was about to file bankruptcy. She should’ve known better. But she didn’t, which makes us unspeakable. Her latest scandal gets us to think twice about how wives of high-ranking official behave.

▷In our poor, immature political environment, ladies are often the “target” of bribery. Whenever the bribery scandal becomes known, wives keep making stern denials, and so do their husbands. But, nobody buys the story. In early 1997, the wife of an auditor of a government-invested bank took 20 million won bribe for her role in smoothing out the loan screening. Her denial was “constant” throughout the whole investigation and trial procedure. But the Supreme Court held, “While the defendants constantly denied of husband’s knowledge of the bribery, it is highly probable that he knew.” This is a case the “high ladies” should keep in mind. The whole human history proves that the greedy wives have destroyed their husbands over and over.

youngeon@donga.com