A former general`s double life

Though their boisterous presidential election ended just a week ago, Americans have once again find themselves inundated with news of scandals day after day about two generals and two women. David H. Petraeus is one of America’s most admired four-star generals and led the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan. The former CIA director resigned after admitting to an extramarital affair with the co-author of his biography, who is 20 years his junior. The FBI also discovered another woman who had exchanged emails more than 20,000 times with a U.S. commander in Afghanistan.

John Donne, a British poet in the 17th century, wrote, “More than kisses, letters mingle souls.” Under the Kim Young-sam administration in Korea, intimate letters between then Defense Minister Lee Yang-ho and defense contractor lobbyist Linda Kim stole the spotlight. Lee sent the letters while pushing forward with the Baekdu project. “Savoring the sweet memories of the morning, we were together at the beach in Santa Barbara...” These words found in a letter stimulated the imagination of readers. Under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, a big scandal involving con artist and art curator Shin Jeong-ah and then presidential secretary for policy Byeon Yang-kyoon hit the headlines. The two exchanged more than a hundred letters. Linda Kim once said, “It’s unpleasant for me to be compared to Shin Jeong-ah.”

Petraeus’ affair brought to life America’s age-old debate about privacy. U.S. precedents prioritize the people`s right to know over the validity of a public figure’s alleged affair but the facts in the former general`s case are solid. The FBI caught Petraeus while investigating the emails of related suspects. Certain people criticized him as a hypocrite who pretended to be emblematic of an honorable serviceman. Common American men, however, seem more afraid of the existence of a digital Big Brother, which can look into the private lives of even big guys in the CIA.

Cyber investigation agents can look into a person`s private life via the Internet, where the public and private realms coexist. A warrant is required to initiate an online probe, but no trace is left and this makes it hard to determine to what extent an investigation was conducted. Comments on Facebook and Twitter or deleted emails can be recovered. So cyberspace is probably not a safe haven for lovers.

Editorial Writer Ha Tae-won (triplets@donga.com)