[Opinion] A Lack of Political Ethics

A word from a ward head in Seoul who finished his term has caught my attention. “Be careful of a person who comes to your home. Someone who wants to meet you behind the scenes is not expecting a fair game. If you meet him, you will get in trouble.” That means that you should be wary of a person who doesn’t come to your office and insists on visiting you at home. Having a meeting in one’s private house could turn into a seed of woe.

God knows, you know, and I know-

In a Chinese historical event, that was what a government official said when a man brought bullion to his house in the middle of the night and said, “Nobody knows and please accept it.” That means that bribery behind the scenes will be revealed in the end.

One third of 248 outgoing local officers are charged with corruption-

To put it exactly, 78 of them, or 31.5%, are prosecuted with violations of political funds law and election law, and bribery. Most of them were caught receiving bribes from construction companies or were sent to jail after receiving money in the name of wedding gratuity. They faced such consequences because they failed to resist temptation which occurred behind closed doors.

Closed-door meeting and officials’ wives are inseparably related to each other.-

Bribery by wives of Kim Deok-ryong and Park Seong-beom, Grand National Party members, is such evidence. It is those wives that put their husbands in difficult situations by receiving hundreds of million won of contributions for public nomination, a bundle of dollars, and famous brand-name handbags. Those who think they have no chance of winning in a fair game turn to extremity. I hope that no more local officers are put in trouble due to secret room meetings and their wives.

Kim Chung-sik, Editorial Writer, skim@donga.com