SEOUL – South Korea has arrested, jailed and convicted so many of its presidents that it has become routine. It successfully hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit despite its latest political turbulence.
Corruption plagues many countries. What matters is how countries deal with it. South Korea has shown that it can hold its highest officials and wealthiest citizens to account for wrongdoing, swiftly and in a credible process. This has allowed the country to become the 13th largest economy.
It has also become a global cultural powerhouse. And among the reasons for the popularity of K-dramas has to be the sight of Koreans who break the law, no matter how high up in government or social stratum, getting caught and punished. Quickly, forthwith, no quibbling about the meaning of the word.
Often, the lawbreakers issue a public apology as they either admit the offense, or else feel remorse for causing the people distress or disappointment.
The K-drama plots are so believable because we know from the news that they reflect real life in South Korea.
It’s my first time to visit this country again since the pre-COVID days. I got hooked on Hallyu during the pandemic lockdowns. Considering the real-life political dramas in South Korea, I can understand why K-dramas have become a favorite form of escapist entertainment for many Filipinos.
Escapist, because the shows feature stories whose denouements we can only wish for in our land.
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Just consider the latest political upheaval here, with former president Yoon Suk Yeol still in jail and facing trial for his official acts less than a year ago. Yoon, when he was president, declared martial law on Dec. 3 amid mounting opposition to his government.
On Dec. 14, Yoon was impeached by the National Assembly. Prime Minister Han Duck-soo became acting president, but he himself was impeached on Dec. 27, and first deputy prime minister Choi Sang-mok took over.
It took three months for the Constitutional Court, a body created in 1988, to clear Han, who returned as acting president in March this year. On April 4, the same court upheld the impeachment and removal of Yoon as president.
Yoon was head of the Seoul Central District prosecutor’s office when two Korean presidents were convicted and sent to prison: Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye. Park was removed by impeachment in 2017 and sentenced to 25 years in prison for corruption and abuse of power. But she was pardoned on Christmas Eve 2021 and released in March 2022.
Park had succeeded Lee, who was arrested for corruption when he was no longer president, in March 2018. Five months later, he was convicted and sentenced to 15 years, which was increased to 17 years in 2020. But Yoon pardoned Lee in December 2022.
Yoon remains in jail while the charges against him are being tried. The cases are expected to be resolved within the year.
Han held the reins until June 3, when a snap election – required under their Constitution – resulted in Lee Jae Myung taking over as president.
Following his removal by impeachment, Yoon lost his considerable pension, free health care and even his right to be buried in a national cemetery.
Like the Philippines, South Korea approved its current Constitution in 1987. It’s the country’s 10th, and Yoon’s impeachment led to calls for a constitutional amendment – among others, to shorten the single, five-year term of the president to four years. The proposal was rejected.
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In our case, the uncertainty over where the anti-corruption campaign is going has slowed down the economy.
President Marcos at least seems to be feeling the pressure to show progress in holding accountable the big names linked to the corruption in the budget process and flood control projects.
BBM himself announced on Friday that the Sandiganbayan had issued arrest warrants for resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman Elizaldy Co and 17 others linked to an anomalous flood control project in Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro.
“Arrest them now,” BBM said, although this is of course complicated in the case of Co, who is hiding abroad.
Meanwhile, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman the filing of charges for plunder, direct bribery or graft against BBM’s favorite (no longer?) cousin Martin Romualdez and Co, who chaired the House committee on appropriations in the 19th Congress.
Maybe BBM found it necessary to remind everyone that he started this anti-corruption campaign, after Co posted those videos accusing the President and his cousin of getting P25 billion in kickbacks from P100 billion in project insertions in the 2025 outlay.
It’s weird for a president to beg lawmakers to insert projects after submitting to Congress his National Expenditure Program, which already contains all the projects that he wants financed in the coming year.
The issue against BBM in this mess is why he failed to stop the budget mangling despite his awareness of the kickbacks (according to Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco) and his scolding of his cousin. Did the then House speaker simply assert the independence of the legislature and its power of the purse?
Another issue against BBM is his token veto – mostly of unprogrammed appropriations – of what has been described as the most corrupt budget ever. Even after the veto, the Department of Public Works and Highways still had a slightly higher allocation than the entire education sector, which included learning institutions that were never previously part of the sector, such as the Philippine Military Academy and Philippine National Police Academy.
Why did BBM sign the 2025 General Appropriations Act? The Palace has explained that he didn’t want a reenacted GAA, which is prone to corruption. So it can still be packaged as part of his anti-corruption efforts.
In the meantime, BBM wants to show that he’s at the helm of this anti-corruption crackdown, even prodding authorities to arrest and put in jail those accused, now na.
With the President, who is the appointing power in the judiciary, breathing down everyone’s neck, the legal process might move with unprecedented speed.
Who knows, we might yet see a K-drama-type ending to this story.