Jailing of Samsung heir sends reforms message to chaebol
New South Korean president must stand by pledge not to pardon Lee Jae-yong and other business leaders as calls for fairness mount
In a five-way presidential race, Moon may have won a respectable 40 per cent of the vote and 120 of 300 parliamentary seats, but that was well short of the three-fifths majority needed to legislate reform. The reign of the chaebol and their ruling families therefore seemed far from over, and their power and influence far from diminished.
It will take more than proof of corruption at the very top to loosen the grip on the economy of chaebol-founding families that typically exercise overall control through a web of small shareholdings. But, with the previous president and a top business leader in jail, the days of a chaebol era characterised by cronyism and bribery and immunity from accountability for abuse of power may be numbered.
The chaebol have been handsomely rewarded for the role of family-run conglomerates in South Korea’s post-war growth. Now, amid a clamour for equality before the law and fairer returns for shareholders, Moon must stand by his pledge not to pardon Lee and other chaebol leaders. His choice of shareholder rights activist Kim Sang-jo to head the Fair Trade Commission is a good sign.
