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http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/12/116_36933.html


12-29-2008 17:55

Lee Asks People to Abide by Law
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that Korea must continue to embrace the rule of law and that the rich and the powerful must first set an example by strictly following the law and show that the legal system applies equally and fairly to everyone.

Lee made the comment during his New Year policy briefing held at Cheong Wa Dae. Officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Legislation as well as the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission presented their briefings to the president.

``First and foremost, the elite members in our society and the government bureaucrats must follow the rule of law without exception and foster a public awareness that everyone is subject to the same rule of law," he said.

President Lee commented that one unfortunate side effect of Korea's accelerated economic development during the past half century is that, sometimes, activities involving illegal elements were tolerated if they were perceived to benefit national economic growth. During times of poverty, national economic development triumphed over everything else.

He added, ``The Korean public is counting on our administration to put an end to corrupt practices."

``Our nation's law-abiding spirit is still not on a par with our leading economic status," he added. ``And that is a major hurdle for us to clear before joining the ranks of advanced nations in the world." The public should also steer away from illegal protests as part of this effort, according to Cheong Wa Dae.

President Lee also pointed to a recent overseas study that argued Korea's ``national brand" is worth less than brand values of the country's top corporations such as Samsung. It ought to be the other way around, he told government officials, and that Korea ought to nurture and maintain a strong national brand.

``This study also showed that Korea's national brand is worth only a fraction of Japan's. Some factors that contributed to this finding include the lack of law-abiding spirit, as well as the ongoing labor problems and the continuing threats from North Korea," he said.

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So, it appears years of letting corporate crooks off the hook has come back to haunt South Korea. Not surprised in the least�there still is a little something called �karma� in the world. Sadly, nothing will change however.

[Beeyee]

Oh the irony

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[Goku]

[DCJames]

Why the hell do people here care?

You aren't Korean. You won't be affected by his policies.

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[RACETRAITOR]

Especially ironic coming from Lee Myungbag.

[NoExplode]

[agentX]

I guess he's tired of having to call police stations to get the police to investigate crimes when they don't (see the elevator pedophile case).
It would also help if judges got their shit together and not give sexual predators probation (incest rape case) or let arsonists off with a warning, or...you get the idea.

[julian_w]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=AGeA1O0jtig

[roknroll]

[Typhoon]

What a load of shit. How can 2MB talk about this kind of thing while he is pardoning people who clearly comitted crimes. What is the reason for the pardon? Becuase the criminals in question could help Korea's economy? How? By stealing millions of dollars? How does that help the Korean economy?

This kind of shit is what makes Korea and their "national brand" into a joke. "What you say is not as important as what you do." Korea has never got this and are once again showing that they do not get it. What a bloody joke this place is. They need to just be honest about their policies and their believes and they would get more respect. They need to say, we don't care about the law, if you are rich you can do what you want, if you are poor or don't have a position of power you will get screwed, this is the way it was in the Chosun Dynasty and this is the way it is today. At least this is the truth. Why all the lies and double talk? Freaking Korea.

[Milwaukiedave]

It seems that Korea is repeating the same mistake over and over again with the pardoning of big chebol chiefs. LMB's creditablity is pretty bad at this point and I have a feeling it is going to get worse, to the point that Koreans will regret having elected him.

The other thing I was thinking about when I started reading the thread is the underground economy, which is a problem as well.

[jkelly80]

mebbe cuz there's this thing called 'da internet' and korea keeps getting embarrassed by its 아저씨부대 and the ridiculous crap they pull.

[Beeyee]