By Despite the Korea Times claims I seriously doubt many foreigners even know who Roh Moo-hyun is much less care if his corruption charges effects Korea’s national image:
To get an idea of how the investigation of former President Roh Moo-hyun over bribery allegations is interpreted by foreign residents here, The Korea Times asked 10 of them about their thoughts on the probe.
Their replies on the impact of the summons of the former President on the national image and the motive behind the investigation were mixed. Six said the summons would have little impact on the national brand, while the rest thought it would.
Most also reckoned the case was a step toward a cleaner society, and said it didn’t look like political vengeance by the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration against the liberal former head of state. They said if the prosecution conducts its investigation fairly and secures evidence to prove him guilty, Roh should be held accountable under the law.
However, some thought the prosecution was conducting a “whimsical” investigation driven by public sentiment, intentionally leaking information to the media even before charging Roh with a crime. [Korea Times]
If the Korea Times wants to know what hurts Korea’s national image they can start with this, this, this, and this.
It is the sad reality. No mistake...
4:04 am on April 30th, 2009 1
Only kids believe that politicians are honest people. The only difference between Korean presidents and others is that they are caught.
Of course, it does not make me proud of what’s going on in Korea.
11:29 am on April 30th, 2009 2
All Korean presidents are investigated after they leave office. Maybe the US should consider doing this.
12:37 pm on April 30th, 2009 3
Politician investigated/caught for corruption- same sh*t, different day in practically every country.
This will not "hurt" Korea.
I believe it to be a ploy to gain sympathy for Roh. It's like in the movie "Clear and Present Danger" where Jack Ryan discovers that the President has overseen an illegal war in Columbia- he will go public with the information, but the President begs him saying that revealing it would "damage the presidency and hurt the nation".
It's a cheap ploy for sympathy that is really an attempt to weasle out of responsibility for wrongdoing that happens in real life, too.
Even Nixon tried that ploy!
As pointed out in this post, and there are numerous other examples, Koreans do so many things that truly make them an embarassment on the world stage (what can I say, they are still learning that there even is a world outside and they have a long way to go!).
There are so many things they need to work on for becoming a real enlightened first world nation.
While political corruption is one of those things, actually holding the corrupt accountable is progress. Letting it slide in order to avoid "hurting the nation" is counter-productive to progress.