The World This Week: Power and Sin

(Baonghean) - Last week, world public opinion paid much attention to developments surrounding two trials of figures who have held and are holding political and economic power in various countries.

However, while the Samsung Group heir will appeal the five-year prison sentence related to the scandal that shook the kimchi country, the other trial had to be postponed to another day due to the sudden disappearance of the defendant - Thailand's first female and youngest Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

Samsung Group heir Lee Jae-yong leaves court on August 25. Photo AFP

Scandal from the tablet

On August 25, Lee Jae-yong - the heir to the Samsung Group was sentenced to five years in prison for bribery and corruption, adding to the list of names involved in a scandal that has shaken South Korea, reshaped political activities and disrupted the country's elite, even overshadowing concerns about North Korea's missile threats.

It all started when Choi Soon-sil’s tablet fell into the hands of the press, and they soon discovered evidence that Choi, a close friend and informal adviser to then-South Korean President Park Geun-hye, had been receiving classified documents and interfering in state affairs. Although she never held any official position, sources revealed that Choi Soon-sil had prior access to speeches and other documents from the Blue House owner.

This shocking revelation led to a Seoul court sentencing Choi to three years in prison in June for obstructing the execution of official duties by using her influence to “profit” her daughter’s academic achievements at Ewha University. Two university officials were also sentenced to 18 and 24 months in prison, respectively.

After Choi Soon-sil’s lucky star faded, her “protector” and South Korea’s first female president also suffered a similar fate. Despite the bitter winter cold, hundreds of thousands of South Koreans took to the streets to demand Park’s ouster. After months of trying to calm the situation with television appearances, vague apologies, and expressions of regret for “causing concern to the people,” Park was impeached by the South Korean National Assembly in December last year with 234 votes in favor and 56 against.

On March 10, the country’s top court upheld the impeachment, effectively ending Park’s political career and sparking huge celebrations in Seoul. Two months later, prosecutors opened an investigation into allegations of corruption, coercion and leaking classified information against Park. The former president has denied the charges, but the public is still waiting for a final verdict in October.

However, a major political storm in Seoul split Park's Saenuri Party, with conservatives losing ground and eventually giving way to liberal reformer Moon Jae-in, who took power in May.

For the Korean people, corruption is a top concern during every election, and many people do not hesitate to point out the close relationship between members of the country's political elite and the chaebols - large family-run corporations such as Samsung or Lotte that have a significant influence on the Korean economy.

The scandal that brought down Park and Choi has also swept through these companies, with senior executives from both groups facing trial. Lotte chairman Shin Dong-bin was charged with bribery in April, and Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong was recently sentenced to five years in prison. Prosecutors painted Lee as a cunning tycoon who knew exactly what he was doing when Samsung spent tens of millions of dollars on entities linked to a close friend of Park. Lee has denied any wrongdoing, and his lawyers have said they will appeal.

Previous efforts to crack down on corruption involving the chaebol have been met with limited success due to lenient sentencing or political amnesties, but during his election campaign, current South Korean President Moon Jae-in promised to be realistic, emphasizing “the importance of establishing fairness under the law” for all South Korean citizens.

Former Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets supporters as she leaves the Supreme Court on July 21. Photo: AFP

Former Thai Prime Minister on the run?

Former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has been banned from leaving Thailand without court approval since 2015 after being ousted in a military coup in 2014. She could face up to 10 years in prison for negligence over a rice subsidy scheme that cost the country billions of dollars.

The rice subsidy program was introduced in 2011, promising to pay farmers higher prices than the market. Critics say it is a waste of public funds to appease rural voters, hurting exports and leaving the government with surplus rice reserves that it must sell at a loss. Yingluck has insisted that the rice subsidy program “benefits farmers and the country,” and that claims that it has cost money are false and fueled by those with political leanings against her.

In 2016, she pledged to attend the entire trial and not leave the country, but a few days ago, several media outlets reported that a senior source in the Pheu Thai Party revealed that Ms. Yingluck had left Thailand and gone to Dubai two days before the Thai court issued its verdict on the rice subsidy case.

The source confirmed that Ms. Yingluck left on August 23 and is now “safe and sound” in Dubai, although she was supposed to appear in court on August 25. At the hearing, Ms. Yingluck’s lawyer said she was sick, but could not produce a doctor’s certificate. The explanation was rejected, and the Thai Supreme Court issued an arrest warrant for the woman and postponed the trial to September 27.

This raises many questions in public opinion, whether Yingluck has "followed in the footsteps" of her brother Thaksin - also a former Prime Minister of Thailand and currently living in exile in Dubai or London to avoid being charged with corruption.

Responding to the press, Thai police still affirmed that there was no official record proving that Ms. Yingluck had left, but it was “possible” that she had fled through a natural border area to a neighboring country.

Yingluck’s mysterious disappearance was clearly a “big surprise” to most Thais and will likely embolden the country’s military government, according to political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Chulalongkorn University. However, he said there was little chance of unrest in Thailand following the news, but perhaps as a precaution, the police had deployed 3,000 people to guard against any protests.

Thu Giang