sirgalahad2010
14-09-2007, 04:16 PM
It was reported in the Spore Straits Times (http://straitstimes.com.sg) that the jail terms of 2 of South Korea's richest businessmen - Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong Koo (the 2nd richest man in S Korea) for embezzlement and Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung Youn (the 9th richest man in S Korea) for assault had both been suspended.
A South Korean journalist was quoted in the ST report:
"The interest is small, as the outcomes are not unexpected, in view of the judiciary's past record of leniency towards chaebol chiefs. People are resigned to the fact that those with clout are likely to get away with wrongdoings."
A worker with a Hyundai department store:
"I am more interested in having my own roof over my head, putting food on the table and not having to worry about job security. If the chaebols can meet my basic needs, it does not matter if the bosses misbehave."
A S Korean university graduate who is looking for a job:
"If I have to choose between justice and getting a job, employment comes first. The economy needs the conglomerates (chaebols) to churn out the jobs."
And a secretary in Seoul:
"Corruption has been around for decades. The government has been cracking down on graft for the past four years but has still failed to weed it out. After a while, one just accepts this as a way of doing business in this country."
(Emphases mine).
Sound familiar? And this from one of the acknowledged Asian tiger economies!
A South Korean journalist was quoted in the ST report:
"The interest is small, as the outcomes are not unexpected, in view of the judiciary's past record of leniency towards chaebol chiefs. People are resigned to the fact that those with clout are likely to get away with wrongdoings."
A worker with a Hyundai department store:
"I am more interested in having my own roof over my head, putting food on the table and not having to worry about job security. If the chaebols can meet my basic needs, it does not matter if the bosses misbehave."
A S Korean university graduate who is looking for a job:
"If I have to choose between justice and getting a job, employment comes first. The economy needs the conglomerates (chaebols) to churn out the jobs."
And a secretary in Seoul:
"Corruption has been around for decades. The government has been cracking down on graft for the past four years but has still failed to weed it out. After a while, one just accepts this as a way of doing business in this country."
(Emphases mine).
Sound familiar? And this from one of the acknowledged Asian tiger economies!