51吃瓜

The ousting of blue blooded Park Geun-hye, the first female president of South Korea, marks a major turning point for a country in crisis.

This week was eventful. WikiLeaks revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has developed some . The agency can now eavesdrop, using smartphone, tablet, laptop and television microphones. Weeping Angel, Ricky Bobby, Starving Weasel, Maddening Whispers and Snowy Owl are some of, what the BBC calls, 鈥�.鈥�

This was a tragic week for wildlife. Satao, one of the last 鈥溾�� elephants, was killed in Kenya. Giant tuskers or big tuskers are African bull elephants with ivory tusks large enough to brush the grass on the ground. They are some of the most magnificent animals alive and merely 30 of them now walk the earth. In France, poachers shot dead Vince, a 4-year old , in his enclosure in Thoiry Zoo. Rhinos have been slaughtered for long in Africa and Asia for their horns. This was the first time poachers killed a rhino in a European zoo. Neither conservation efforts nor the bans on trade of ivory and rhino horns are enough to protect these majestic animals from the rapacious two-legged species, Homo sapiens sapiens.

Two other events were noteworthy.

First, Bolivian President Evo Morales signed into law a bill that nearly . Under current legislation, 12,000 acres is set aside for coca production. The new law increases this area to 22,000 acres. Coca is used to make cocaine, but it is also traditionally used in the Andes to fight altitude sickness as well as suppress hunger, thirst and pain. Morales, Bolivia鈥檚 first indigenous president, once grew coca himself.

Second, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi won a thumping majority in Uttar Pradesh, India鈥檚 biggest state with over 200 million people. With the opposition in disarray, this strengthens the populist prime minister and puts him in pole position for a second term in 2019.

Yet the event that holds center stage this week is the ousting from office of Park Geun-hye, the South Korean president who has been enmeshed in scandal.

MURDER, MEDIUM, MAMMON, MANIPULATION AND MORE MURDER

South Korea鈥檚 presidential scandal has been going on for months even though the world has taken little note of it. In a story titled, 鈥�,鈥� Singapore鈥檚 The Straits Times examines the life and times of South Korea鈥檚 female president, bringing to light the anatomy of a scandal that has brought the country to a standstill.

Park entered public life when her mother was assassinated on August 15, 1974. The North Korean spy had intended to kill Park鈥檚 father, South Korea鈥檚 then-dictator Park Chung-hee. This military strongman had seized power in 1961 and ruled his fast-growing country with an iron fist. With her mother dead, Park assumed her role as first lady and was constantly by her father鈥檚 side.

It is during these years that Park got to know Choi Tae-min, a self-proclaimed pastor who set up a cult-like group called The Church of Eternal Life. The pastor told Park that he was receiving messages from her mother and offered to be a medium. As this charismatic man became Park鈥檚 鈥渟piritual adviser,鈥� his fifth and apparently favorite daughter became Park鈥檚 close confidante. Choi Soon-sil was four years younger to Park and a mere undergraduate. She was often seen at Park鈥檚 side even as her father began patriotic organizations in the name of Park and profited handsomely from them. Father Choi鈥檚 influence grew to such a degree that he earned the sobriquet, the 鈥淜orean Rasputin.鈥�

As per numerous news organizations and the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA), Choi used his proximity to Park to peddle influence and secure bribes. This was a time when Park鈥檚 father prosecuted, jailed and tortured dissidents with wanton abandon. For many, the influence of the Korean Rasputin in the presidential Blue House was the proverbial last straw.

One of those alarmed by the state of affairs was Kim Jae Gyu. He was the big boss of the KCIA. In 1979, Kim assassinated General Park. In his trial, Kim claimed that part of his motivation for assassination came from the general鈥檚 鈥渇ailure to prevent Choi Tae-min鈥檚 corrupt activities and keep him away from his daughter.鈥�

RISE AND FALL OF THE DAUGHTERS

Once her father was killed, Park disappeared from public view. She kept the Chois close. As per her siblings, too close.

In 1990, Park鈥檚 younger sister and younger brother filed a petition to the then president claiming that Father Choi was manipulating their sister and alienating them from her. More importantly, they alleged that Father Choi was illicitly profiting from a foundation set up to commemorate their parents. Needless to say, the petition was to no avail. Park鈥檚 relations with her siblings cooled and she became ever more reliant on the Chois.

In fact, rumors abound that Park had a romantic liaison with Father Choi and they have an illegitimate child who is safely kept out of public view. It helps that Father Choi was a bit of a ladies man who married six times. Needless to say, Park continues to deny all rumors of a liaison with him.

Father Choi died aged 82 in 1994, but Park continued to remain close to Daughter Choi. In 1998, after the 1997 Asian financial crisis devastated South Korea, Park entered politics. Her rise in South Korea鈥檚 highly and male-dominated politics was meteoric. Between 2004 and 2006, her party won all 40 elections and by-elections. In 2007, she bid for the presidency but Lee Myung-bak, a former CEO of Hyundai, won her party鈥檚 nomination. Park was not to be denied for long though and was elected president in 2012.

Like many politicians before and since, Park came to power promising change. She 鈥�.鈥� Park pledged to build a happier country based on rule of law and meritocracy. The new leader also assured her citizens that she would push forth 鈥渘ational reconciliation鈥� with North Korea, while maintaining a 鈥渟trong deterrent鈥� to its rogue northern neighbor. She declared that she would 鈥渂uild up the capital of trust鈥� by ensuring that her administration would remain 鈥渃lean, transparent and competent.鈥� Unfortunately, Park did not institute any major reforms once in power.

Instead, she was blamed for systemic failures such as the 2014 in which 304 people, including 250 schoolchildren, lost their lives.

Sewol became a metaphor for all that was wrong with South Korea. The operating company had added superstructure to the ship鈥檚 hull and removed ballast water to load extra cargo. When Sewol heeled over near an island, the seas were calm. Fishing boats, coastguard boats and even helicopters soon surrounded the ship.

All this was to no avail because the captain had abandoned the ship. The crew had told passengers to stay in their cabins instead of proceeding to the open upper decks where they could have been rescued. Many met nightmarish ends and sent out smartphone footage of their final moments. The corruption, top-down culture and opacity that blight South Korea were cruelly captured in Sewol.

The Straits Times reports that Park 鈥渞eceived a text message of the accident at 9.24am, followed by a written report at 10.00am.鈥� However, it was only at 5:15pm that Park deigned to show up at the national emergency room. By this time the coast guard, the navy and civilians had worked themselves to death in rescue efforts. The only person who seemed missing was the president herself. To add insult to injury, Park鈥檚 first question in the headquarters was woefully ignorant. She demanded to know why the students, who she assumed were wearing life vests, had not been found yet.

Park never recovered from Sewol.

Worse was to follow. Daughter Choi鈥檚 husband, Chung Yoon-hoi, had been chief of staff to Park when she was in parliament. Sankei Shimbun, a Japanese newspaper, reported that Park was on a romantic tryst with Chung when she was supposed to be directing the Sewol rescue operation. Reports later emerged that Chung 鈥溾�� and ordering Park’s 鈥渟ecretaries to do his bidding, despite holding no official position.鈥�

In 2016, it emerged that daughter Choi had . JTBC, a cable news channel, found a discarded tablet which revealed that Daughter Choi had received 44 speeches. Allegations surfaced of daughter Choi emulating father Choi and using her friendship to pressure South Korean companies to give money to her charities in return for favorable government treatment.

None other than Lee Jae-yong, the heir to the Samsung fortune and its de facto boss, is under the microscope. Prosecutors allege that Lee paid $36 billion to Daughter Choi. He also gave a horse and cash to Daughter Choi鈥檚 daughter who is an equestrian champion. Apparently, this investment paid off handsomely. Lee was able to win government support for Samsung鈥檚 restructuring.

This scandal blew up just as the South Korean economy was experiencing a painful economic crisis. As : Samsung was 鈥渢rying to control the damage from canceling its flagship product,鈥� South Korea鈥檚 鈥渓argest container shipper went into receivership,鈥� the head of its biggest retailer was 鈥渋ndicted on charges of embezzlement,鈥� and exports were slumping and household debt was rising. Seething South Koreans, suffering from an acute economic downturn, took to the streets. and candlelight vigils broke out, calling for Park to step down.

Soon, daughter Choi apologized for 鈥�,鈥� but the 鈥淐hoi-gate,鈥� as the scandal has come to be known, refused to die down. On December 9, 2016, the South Korean parliament voted by a huge majority to . 鈥淐hoi-gate鈥� soon consumed Daughter Choi too. She found herself in court, 鈥�.鈥�

On March 10, South Korea鈥檚 constitutional court unanimously and unambiguously . She 鈥渨ill immediately forfeit the executive immunity she enjoyed as president, meaning prosecutors can summon, question and possibly arrest her.鈥� South Korea may now be a democracy, but it seems the Chois continue to cast inauspicious dark shadows on the Parks.

NOW WHAT?

Park鈥檚 impeachment is a triumph for South Korea鈥檚 democracy. The fact that massive protests, impeachment and a court ruling led to the ouster of the president, the indictment of her friend and the prosecution of a billionaire heir should augur well for the future. However, tough times lie ahead as the country gears up for a presidential election.

As the February 26 edition of The World This Week pointed out, North Korea continues to remain troublesome and China cannot seem to control it. In any case, the for allowing the US to deploy the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile shield. China fears that THAAD鈥檚 powerful radar to detect missiles would penetrate parts of its northeast, allowing the United States to spy on the country鈥檚 missile tests. This would greatly undermine Beijing鈥檚 nuclear deterrent. Hence, China is turning the economic screws on South Korea with a vengeance.

Any new South Korean leader will have to engage in deft diplomacy with North Korea, China, Japan and the US, balancing both economic and security interests. More importantly, the new president will have to reflect the popular demand for reform. The thousands who came out on the streets want a change to the status quo, and meeting public expectations will be a poisoned chalice for any incoming leader.

Through one prism, South Korea is the great success story of capitalism and democracy. While North Korea remains mired in poverty and under the thumb of the Kim dynasty, South Korea has grown spectacularly, educated its people and developed impressive technologies. In the words of Marcus Noland, this is 鈥�.鈥� In 1964, the country was poorer than Bolivia and Mozambique. In 2014, its per capita income of nearly $23,000 was more than New Zealand and Spain.

Yet not all is well in this capitalist paradise. Sewol is only a symbol of the crony capitalism that plagues the country. Chaebols, family-run conglomerates, dominate the Korean economy. They are like banyan trees that do not allow entrepreneurs and smaller companies to flourish.

Like much of the world, South Korea is experiencing increasing inequality thanks to 鈥�.鈥� Rising unemployment, a rapidly aging population, social stratification and gender discrimination exacerbate inequality in the country. The stumbling global economy is inflicting further misery on export-oriented South Korea, and Justin Fendos argues that it is .

As if inequality and economic woes were not enough, South Korea has been gripped by extreme materialism over the last few decades. In 2015, Patricia Marx reported in The New Yorker that South Korea was . In 2010, Brian Salsberg and Martine Jae-Eun Shin of McKinsey wrote that, despite the Great Recession, they expected the 鈥渓ove of luxury and peer pressure鈥� to keep Koreans spending on high-end products such as LVMH and Gucci.

Unfortunately, all the shopping does not soothe souls. As explained in 2014, 鈥淪outh Korea, a dynamo of growth, is also afire with faith.鈥� In 1945, only 2% of Koreans were Christian. That number has risen to . Buddhists have been left behind in the battle for souls at a mere 23%. South Korean Christians are particularly devout. The country sends more missionaries abroad than any other country except the US. In fact, apart from military alliance and economic ties, religion now ties the US and South Korea together. Both are highly evangelical countries.

It is this new Americano religiosity that has made South Korea vulnerable to cult leaders like Father Choi. abound. 鈥淐hoi-gate鈥� may have brought down the president, but it is only the tip of the iceberg of a society that has lost its way. South Korea is at a turning point. The country needs not just a change in leadership, but a serious examination of its deepest values. Only then can tiny impressive South Korea find its feet again.

*[You can receive 鈥淭he World This Week鈥� directly in your inbox by subscribing to our mailing list. Simply visit聽51吃瓜聽and enter your email address in the space provided. Meanwhile, please find below five of our finest articles for the week.]

Breitbart News and the Return of Partisan Journalism

漏 Allkindza

The popularity of Breitbart among conservative voters is an outcome of a long-term right-wing campaign against the progressive media.

The 2016 presidential campaign was arguably the most divisive and polarized in modern American history. The election of a demagogue like Donald Trump to the White House not only exposed deep-rooted racial fault lines that continue to persist in American society, but also shed light on the economic resentment and cynicism that have been simmering in many parts of rural and suburban America.

Trump ran a campaign that was filled with hateful and xenophobic rhetoric that will most likely have far-reaching consequences on the larger public discourse in the United States. At the receiving end of his spiteful rhetoric were not only immigrants and minorities, but also journalists and the mainstream media. His constant branding of media as 鈥渂iased,鈥� 鈥渄ishonest,鈥� 鈥渞igged鈥� and 鈥渆nemies of American people鈥� reinforced the perception of 鈥渓iberal media bias鈥� among Republican voters, and created an鈥� Read more

The Voices of the World

India 漏 Hadynyah

Training young minds to create a new global discourse that is diverse, deep and meaningful is the crying need of the hour.

Climate change聽is a challenge facing the entire planet. Yet different countries have different perspectives even when they agree on the enormity of the challenge. The United States wants China and India to control their emissions. The two Asian giants want the US to share new technology with them in return because they have millions living without electricity and their per capita energy consumption is a fraction of that in the rich world.

Even issues that seem black and white are complex. To make sense of any issue, we need context and multiple perspectives. Yet at the same time, we are all prisoners of our backgrounds and beliefs. Media invariably reflects national or local perspectives whether it is聽The New York Times聽辞谤听The Japan Times. Moreover, in the era of social media, we are often鈥� Read more

It鈥檚 Time to Make in India

漏 track5

The Make in India campaign is an attempt to encourage聽foreign investment and manufacturing in聽the country.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the reins from his predecessor Manmohan Singh in 2014, he made it very clear that he was a man with a purpose: to make India a聽global manufacturing hub聽that would attract foreign investment. The first step he took in this direction was to give a聽100%聽allowance聽to foreign direct investment聽(FDI) in many key sectors. This means that a foreign company can now easily set up shop in India, without requiring an Indian partner.

Then he launched a flagship program鈥擬ake in India鈥攖o encourage investment in sectors such as aviation, automotive, steel and defense. Modi鈥檚 India finally seems to be walking toward a future where the traditional reliance on red-tape and high-level bureaucracy is fading in the minds of foreign investors. If India gets rid of the various obstacles posed to鈥� Read more

What鈥檚 the Alternative to a Hard Brexit?

Brexit 漏 Beeldbewerking

In聽the absence of a real alternative to a hard Brexit, the UK is on auto pilot heading toward a cliff. Former Irish Prime Minister John Bruton explains.

I believe聽conditions can be created in which British voters could decide not to leave the European Union (EU) at all.聽Ireland should work to create those conditions.

The terms f辞谤听Brexit聽set out by British Prime Minister Theresa May will聽do incalculable damage to this island鈥攑olitically, emotionally and economically.聽We cannot simply wait for this to happen. While seeking to mitigate the effects of May鈥檚 chosen hard Brexit, we must also do everything we can to ensure there is no Brexit. Apart from a few open questions, the prime minister has said what she wants: to be out of the single market, out of the customs union and 鈥渃ontrol鈥� over immigration. The open questions she has avoided so far are about the financial terms of the divorce鈥� Read more

No, Brazil Won鈥檛 Become a Narco State

漏 John D. Williams

Gustavo Ribeiro discusses the issue of drug challenges with one of Brazil鈥檚 most respected experts in organized crime.

In the first two weeks of 2017, Brazil witnessed a grand total of four prison riots. By January 17, at least 134 inmates had died inside the Brazilian penitentiary system. The deaths were the result of clashes between rival gangs that fight for the control of both prisons and drug routes. The country is being forced to deal with the聽appalling living conditions聽of its facilities and has exposed the聽actions of drug cartels. These recent events have led to a big question: Does Brazil risk becoming a narco state?

I聽discussed the issue with聽Guaracy Mingarde, a researcher at the Forum for Public Safety and one of Brazil鈥檚 most respected experts in organized crime. To answer this question, we first need to properly understand the definition of a narco state. The term refers to an area under the control鈥� Read more

The views expressed in this article are the author鈥檚 own and do not necessarily reflect 51吃瓜鈥檚 editorial policy.

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