The best test of the strength of a democracy is when those at the highest level of politics are called on to account for their actions. This happened in South Korea last week when President Kim Dae-jung's second son appeared in court for sentencing on corruption charges.
Kim Hong-up was sentenced on Friday to 3.5 years in jail and fined 1.06 billion won (HK$6.68 million) for accepting millions of dollars from businessmen through influence-peddling and for avoiding tax on political donations. He has appealed against the sentence.
Handing down sentence, Judge Kim Sang-kyun said: 'The accused must be sternly punished as he committed crimes by taking advantage of his special status as a son of the president.'
President Kim's other son, Kim Hong-gul, has also been found guilty of graft and tax evasion charges. He will be sentenced on November 11.
President Kim has been absolved from guilt in both cases, but his image has been damaged nonetheless. The cases take the shine off his five-year term in office, which ends in January. He will doubtless be remembered as much for the lawlessness of his sons as for rescuing South Korea from an economic meltdown, meeting North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il and winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
But although President Kim may have been tarnished, his country's status as a democracy remains solidly intact. Its judicial and political systems are functioning as they should and South Koreans should be proud.
