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[Hatcher]

A low-trust society
2011-08-03 09:42
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Koreans� lack of faith in strangers, foreigners holds country back


A 25-year-old man surnamed Choi beat and raped his girlfriend in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in July last year after she demanded they break up. When he faced police investigation, Choi�s mother, 50, hurt his son with a stone to make it look as though his girlfriend had hit him and provoked the attack. She then made him sue his girlfriend.

Both Choi and his mother surnamed Chun were recently convicted of making false accusations, with Choi also found guilty of raping and injuring his girlfriend. The court said Chun�s act was more malicious than her son�s.

Also in Cheongju, a 77-year-old man has been imprisoned four times for making 118 claims based on fabricated statements since 2000.

In April 2010, a woman in her 50s in Busan was sentenced to a year and four months in jail and a fine of 3 million won ($2,850) for a dozen false accusations including some against a prosecutor and a judge.


They were just some of a growing number of Koreans put on trial on charges of calumny. According to figures from the Supreme Court, the number increased from 1,533 in 2006 to 1,663 in 2007, 2,090 in 2008 and 2,154 in 2009.

In tandem with the rise in false accusations, the number of people tried for committing perjury in court also climbed from 1,210 in 2006 to 1,638 in 2007, 1,858 in 2008 and 1,983 in 2009.

Experts note that Korea may be the country with the highest rate of people punished for making false accusations or giving false testimonies. In 2007, Koreans indicted for perjury or calumny totaled 1,544 and 2,171, respectively, compared to only nine and 10 in Japan. Taking into account Japan�s population is about 2.5 times Korea�s, experts said the figures indicate that Koreans commit perjury and make false accusations about 420 times and 540 times the rate of the Japanese.

Law enforcement officials here also complain they are having difficulties with witnesses giving false testimonies.

�Some witnesses appear to believe they have the right to lie while making statements to investigators,� said a prosecutor at a prosecution office in Seoul.

Under the current laws, witnesses giving false testimonies to the prosecution or police go unpunished, while those proved to have fabricated facts in filing suits or to have committed perjury in court are subject to up to 10 years in prison or 15 million won in fines and up to five years in jail or 10 million won in fines, respectively. The Cabinet recently approved a revision bill to criminal laws, which would introduce obstruction of justice to enable the punishment of lying witnesses and increase the maximum prison term for perjury to seven years.

Distrust of strangers

Critics say the pervasion of false accusations, perjury and distorted testimonies reflects the embarrassing truth the country faces ― many Koreans don�t feel guilty about lying, keeping societal trust at a low level.

In his 1995 work �Trust: The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity,� U.S. scholar Francis Fukuyama placed Korea in the group of low-trust societies along with China, France and Italy, which are family-oriented and have relatively low levels of trust among strangers. He argues low-trust societies need to negotiate and often litigate rule and regulations while high-trust societies like those in Germany and Japan are able to develop innovative organizations and hold down the cost of doing business. According to him, the level of trust based upon shared norms is the most pervasive cultural characteristic influencing a nation�s prosperity and global competitiveness.

In a further reflection of the relevance of his theory, Korea has been inundated with fraud, accusations and complaints, with Koreans� trust in strangers and foreigners remaining at lower levels, compared to other advanced countries.

According to statistics from the Justice Ministry, a total of 205,140 cases of fraud took place in 2008, costing victims about 2.8 trillion won.

Misappropriations and breaches of duty numbered 26,750 and 5,135, bringing about losses of 806 billion won and 617 billion won, respectively, in the same year.

The number of cases submitted to the prosecution increased from 564,532 in 2007 to 594,058 in 2008 and 618,470 in 2009, according to the Supreme Prosecutors� Office. More than 60 percent of them have not led to indictments by prosecutors, suggesting Koreans tend to rush to accuse someone without trying to find a compromise.


The 2005 World Values Survey showed that a mere 13.4 percent of Koreans trusted a stranger, compared to an average 33.9 percent in 12 surveyed member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Just three in every 10 Koreans replied they trusted foreigners, far below the OECD average of 54.3 percent. But an overwhelming 99.3 percent of Koreans expressed confidence in family members, compared to 86.9 percent in other OECD countries. About 84 percent of Koreans responded they trusted acquaintances while 76.4 percent in the OECD states said so.

The high sense of closeness to family members, friends and other acquaintances is often behind perjury cases. A survey by the prosecution found that more than half of those indicted on perjury charges had acted because of acquaintance and 26.5 percent were motivated by economic benefit.

A prosecutor, requesting anonymity, said he has often got the impression of trials being degraded into a contest of liars. Last year, a motel owner, who had been fined for arranging prostitution, was arrested for inciting his friends to give false testimonies in favor of him. His friends also stood trial on perjury charges. A man being tried for violent acts and his wife were recently punished for committing perjury. After the wife was indicted for making a false statement that her husband had not been violent, her husband had perjury added to his counts by insisting that his wife had not lied about his case.

Historical roots

Experts note the lack of a sense of justice among Koreans may be due to their tendency to put personal relations ahead of laws, which is rooted in traditional culture and has been augmented by the turbulent modern history of the nation. They say such attachment to personal ties has hampered the strict application of law and public norms in Korean society. In the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), which was based on Confucian principles, those who accused their parents, superiors and spouses were punished for tainting �fine customs.�

�Koreans tend to lie to maintain personal relationships, which shows the characteristics of Korean society oriented to connections and harmony,� said Mun Yong-rin, professor of education at Seoul National University, in a paper.

A report by the Korea Development Institute indicated Koreans� tendency of trusting acquaintances and distrusting strangers has become stronger through Japan�s colonial rule, the Korean War and the rapid economic growth that has driven them to unlimited competition.

Mun said Koreans have developed their own survival wisdom based on their historical experience that personal ties and private organizations have been more helpful and protective for them than public authorities.

The low-level trust in Korean society has also been reflected in Koreans� inclination to easily accept groundless rumors as true and doubt statements or explanations by government officials and experts. For an example, the Seoul government had difficulty getting the public to believe the outcome of the inquiry into the cause of a naval ship sinking in the West Sea in March last year. Even after inviting international experts to join the investigative team, some Koreans persistently raised suspicions over the conclusion that a North Korean torpedo attack sank the vessel.

In a survey of 2,012 adults, conducted by the Presidential Committee on Social Cohesion in 2010, a meager 3 percent of respondents said they trusted the legislature, with just 19.6 percent and 16.8 percent having confidence in the administration and the judiciary. A 2006 survey by the KDI put public trust in the legislature, administration and judiciary at 3.0, 3.3 and 4.3, respectively, on a scale of zero to 10 with 10 marking complete confidence. The scores were below or similar to 4.0 for strangers. Other organizations also marked tepid scores ― 5.4 for educational institutions and civic groups, 4.9 for the media and the military, and 4.7 for large companies.

A 2007 survey by the Pew Research Center, a nonprofit U.S. think tank, found that fewer than one in 10 Koreans were satisfied with their government, below 11 percent for Nigeria and 22 percent for Uganda and similar to 6 percent for Lebanon and 5 percent for Palestinians. Questioned on whether they believed national leaders had a good influence on state affairs, just 24 percent of Koreans replied positively ― the third from the bottom in the list of 32 surveyed countries and about half the levels in the U.S. and Japan.

With societal trust remaining low, Korea is gripped by intensifying social conflict. In a social conflict index list of 27 OECD member countries, published in a 2010 research by the Samsung Economic Research Institute, Korea ranked fourth ― behind Turkey, Poland and Slovakia.

Building trust

Critics blame the high level of distrust and conflict in Korean society for moral hazards and a lack of social responsibility among those with power and wealth. It has become a familiar scene for those designated for high-ranking posts to withdraw from their positions after coming under fire for a string of past irregularities or illegal acts revealed at parliamentary hearings. But many experts say the problem of low trust should not be attributed only to those in the higher echelons, noting that fraud, false accusations, perjury and other crimes gnawing at social trust have permeated all corners of society.

If Korea is to join the group of advanced nations, they say, the country should strengthen efforts to enhance the level of societal trust. They indicate Koreans should discard their distrust for strangers and foreigners and open wider their minds in an era when the number of expatriates living in their country has exceeded the 1 million mark and is expected to continue growing.

�Until now, economic growth has enabled Korea to come to the threshold of entering the group of advanced countries,� said Shin Kwang-yeong, sociology professor at Chung-Ang University.

�But from now on, Koreans should take steps toward building a trustful society to become a truly advanced nation.�

Na Eun-young, professor of mass communications at Sogang University, said Koreans have been passionate in their achievements and such passion has led to the permeation of the perception that in the process, other things including moral integrity can be sacrificed to some degree. She noted, however, times have changed and Koreans should recognize the increasing importance of paying heed to morality and the interests of the whole community rather than being preoccupied with their goals.

By Kim Kyung-ho ([email protected])

[Captain Corea]

I think the graph about trust is quite interesting. Actually, I find the premise for the whole article kind of interesting.

I'm curious about the Korean reaction to this.

[Chokse]

When I came to Korea in the mid 1990s, we had a pre-semester meeting for new and old teachers at the university I worked at. The head teacher was asked what to do if students cheated (we taught some writing classes), and the answer he gave (over 15 years ago) was, "Deduct points from their score if they cheat and explain why they lost the points. But, do not fail them for cheating because cheating cannot be stopped in Korea... it's part of the culture."

I know it sounds a bit "White Man's Burden" and all, but over the years I have found there is some truth to it. Koreans don't seem to feel a bit of guilt about cheating, and often look to cheating as the primary way of doing something, rather than as a last resort. If caught, they don't seem to have a sense of guilt at all. In fact, it seems more like they feel unlucky that they were caught, but not guilty over having done something wrong.

Anyway, it's very interesting to see in action, and maybe it's connected to the way Koreans generally treat strangers in public (lack of politeness) versus the way they treat family and friends.

Each time we go home to visit my parents, my wife is always amazed that people open doors for strangers and that cars stay stopped at red lights and don't try to drive through before they turn green.

[ZIFA]

Interesting article.

Koreans tend not to trust one another. Mistrusting foreigners is just a projection of that.

On a personal/ friendship level I have found Koreans to be very trustworthy. More so than westerners, in fact.

But in business its a diferent story. Korean recruiters and employers are among the most blatant and shameles abusers of trust I have ever encountered.

[southernman]

Thanks for the article.

Before I arrived here I was talking to my brother in law who had been the producer of the nightly news for a Hong Kong television TV station.

He told me that he didn't know much about Korea but that he'd been told that Korean businessmen were considered the most dishonest in Asia.

Maybe thats why Korean's are so disportionality strong in believing family members at over 99%. To a westerner that is just ridiculously high figure.

[komerican]

Has anyone actually read Fukuyama's book? Fukuyama would probably cringe at the connections made in the article with his ideas. He actually conceded that the connection between trust and prosperity is not so clear.

No doubt that more trust would be a good thing but how related is that to wealth? Yes, Japan and Germany are high trust countries but France and Italy, low trust countries according to Fukuyama, are also first world countries and not poor by any means.

Trust doesn't seem to guarantee democracy and a vibrant civil society either since Japan and Germany have had fascist histories in the modern era.

Fukuyama actually writes positively about the level of trust in Korean groups. And clearly, Korea has one of the most open democracies in Asia. Korea's not doing so badly economically either.

Clearly more trust would be a good thing but it's a bit simplistic to say more of it would create some fantastic result. Making a culture is not like baking a pie.

[Triban]

A 5,000 year old pie.

[crescent]

[jvalmer]

[crescent]

[Hatcher]

I think the article introduces the topic but there are many other factors involved when discussing why the society is of low trust.

One thing I suggest when coming to Korea is to avoid all business dealings with K men with small businesses, mainly a hogwans. Always a disaster. I dont mean signing a contract with YBM or Pagoda but rather other smaller biz ventures. Contracts are never honored. I sued a guy recently and in court he lied through his teeth. I pointed it out to the judge and he hardly reacted at all.

[Menino80]

Low trust is just another non-fact used by culturally minded economists. No way to verify if or measure it, it's just an a priori assumption

[ZIFA]

[chungbukdo]

[ZIFA]