aaamusic | On 03, Dec 2019

In the Western world, the picture of South Korea is very positive and is perceived as an example of a successful Asian country with a developed society and laws. Recently, however, the authority of South Korea has been significantly spoiled by several scandals. They not only happened but also were a kind of cascading effect, demonstrating all the bumps and problems of the Korean political and legislative system.

It Always Starts With The Head Of State

It all started in 2015 when one of the South Korean businessmen was detained for participating in gambling in Macau. The fact is that gambling is not only prohibited in the territory of South Korea, but residents of South Korea are also prohibited from playing in the territory of other countries. The businessman was sentenced to 1 year in prison. However, during a further appeal, a corruption relationship was revealed between the prosecutor, the official, and the businessman himself. This is a fairly typical situation for South Korea and it would not have attracted significant attention from the world media and would not have spoiled the country’s image if it had not been for further investigation.

Further along the chain, the investigation continued to gain momentum, moving to the highest echelons of power and business. In the course of the investigation, it was revealed that the prosecutor general, senior secretary of the president, and senior judges were involved in the corruption scandal. A few months later, the scandal was supplemented by another, also related to corruption. The essence of the new scandal was that the Nexon company bought land owned by the attorney general. All this triggered a chain reaction in society, requiring a fair investigation and the eradication of corruption in the justice system. As a result, the chain of investigations reached the accusation of the president, Park Geun-hye, who was accused of being run by her friend Choi Soon-sil and was involved in extorting bribes from the business.

The main character of the scandal was the 60-year-old Choi Sung-sil, who for more than 40 years was a close friend of the current President of Korea, Park Geun-hye. Choi was accused of interfering in the internal affairs of the country, influencing the most important state decisions, as well as creating secret funds for personal purposes. In 2018, the Seoul Central Court sentenced former President of South Korea Park Geun-hye to 24 years in prison. This became the largest and one of the most resonant scandals in South Korea, which became known throughout the world.

Idols Are Far From Ideal

In addition to political scandals, scandals in the entertainment industry also bring down the reputation of South Korea. The relationship between stars and fans in Korean K-pop is different from similar relationships in Western countries. While celebrity scandals are considered the norm in Europe or America, this is a special event in South Korea. Unlike Western artists, K-pop stars are perceived as role models, which means they should not gamble, smoke cannabis and have no relationship. As part of the biggest scandal in the K-pop industry, one of the visitors to the nightclub, which belongs to Seungri, one of the most popular K-pop stars, complained that he was beaten by guards. Seungri ended up being accused on suspicion of forcing girls to provide sex services. This sparked a flurry of investigations that revealed that many K-pop artists have potential legal problems, including violence, cannabis use, and gambling.

Almost every second scandal is connected with gambling, which is a real reputation problem for South Korea. Due to the high significance of this problem, governing bodies might consider changing Korean online gambling regulation framework since not only businessmen but also politicians, k-pop artists, and even e-sportsmen are constantly involved in gambling scandals. Such a high frequency of scandals testifies to the high demand of South Korean citizens for gambling, which cannot be ignored constantly. In this regard, in the coming years, a discussion will begin in South Korea on the abolition of the prison prosecution, and then on the legalization of the gambling business. This is a logical move, given that most scandals are typical of Western society, but because of the artificially high moral standards in South Korea, such scandals in this country are perceived much more painfully.