Comments on: Lone Star scraps KEB deal, prosecutor calls Financial Times big, fat liars

By: London Korean Links / KEB blow by blow

London Korean Links / KEB blow by blow — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 11:31:12 +0000

[...] Lone Star scraps KEB deal, prosecutor calls Financial Times big, fat liars: Robert Koehler, Marmot’s Hole, 24 November 2006 [...]

By: SomeguyinKorea

SomeguyinKorea — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 23:49:29 +0000

Don’t forget the reports of government pressure against the ones in charge investigating the 386 spies.

By: seouldout

seouldout — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 14:13:01 +0000

Don’t know if the business community cares much about threatened lawsuits against the press when it’s making money. FEER and others ran afoul of Singapore’s Lee Kwan Yew, yet money was being made and FDI continued. For a rather boring place w/ some speech restrictions it certainly is a more dynamic place for your expat businessman than here. But zero-sum gamers don’t run the show there.

By: Mingi

Mingi — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:57:06 +0000

South Koreans have been in the process of buying back companies they had “lost” immediately following the 1997 financial crisis. While South Koreans may still complain that foreigners had bought “our” companies for a cheap price, I’ve heard complaints from (now-eternally former) foreign investors that South Koreans on both sides of the deal (South Koreans on the foreign AND domestic side) are collaborating on the sidelines without knowledge of the foreigners to make the price as low as possible for South Korean buyers.

Certainly something journalists in Seoul should look into….

By: Brendon Carr

Brendon Carr — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 10:52:27 +0000

I, too, am sure you’re not the only one with this suspicion. Again, whether or not the suspicion is merited may be irrelevant. If the so-called “foreign investment community” perceives something to be true, action is necessary to address the “misunderstanding” (as Koreans so often like to term being caught out). Now, I could be wrong, but it’s my belief that threatening lawsuits against the foreign press is probably not the best way to win over that community — as its key members all subscribe to the idea that the press ought to be free to report without fear of reprisal.

By: R. Elgin

R. Elgin — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 10:15:08 +0000

Brendon, based upon what I read, I perceive a pattern of selective action against mostly American business concerns, though I am sure other countries could easily be targeted as well. I am sure I am not the only one suspect this is more than a casual concurrence of events.

By: Wedge

Wedge — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 09:26:06 +0000

The first rule of getting out of holes is to stop digging. These prosecutors apparently don’t know the first rule.

Red Sparrow: Nice summation. I might amend it thusly: “Give us your money, technology and managerial know-how. Don’t make a profit. Thanks. Now foxtrot oscar.”

By: Darin

Darin — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 08:10:23 +0000

The prosecutor also warned foreign media “not to portray the Korean prosecution as seeking to fan nationalism and anti-foreign capital.” Or else.

Here we go again. “You can’t say that because it’s wrong, you just can’t say it because we don’t like it.”

By: red sparrow

red sparrow — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 06:47:48 +0000

The Korean attitude toward foreign investment can pretty much be summarised as follows:

“Give us your money. Thanks. Now f*ck off.”

By: Brendon Carr

Brendon Carr — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 06:43:28 +0000

Hokay, here it is as I understand it. I’m not perfect — believe it or not! — and don’t know everything yet. But this is what I know of the organization of the prosecution:

Korea has a bifurcated justice structure. In the US, the Attorney General is the head of the Department of Justice. In Korea, the Minister of Justice is not the same as the Prosecutor General. Both are appointed by the President, but whereas the Minister of Justice is straight-up a political appointee, the Prosecutor General is (usually) a career prosecutor whose candidacy is put forward by the prosecution as an institution. He is independent of the Minister of Justice, although the Minister of Justice has the constitutional power to direct the Prosecutor General to take or not to take some action.

Historically the prosecution has been a lapdog of the presidency and done whatever those in power commanded, but historically Korea has been ruled by thugs. Democratic Korea has only a 15 year history. Over the democratic era, the prosecution has increasingly asserted its independence.

The Roh Blue House made a lot of high-minded declamations earlier in his presidency about respecting the independence of the prosecution, and not interfering in the administration of justice for political purposes. And for a while, it seemed they held to principle. But then in 2005, during the flap about arresting Commie professor Kang Jeong-Koo for violation of the National Security Act, the prosecution complained about pressure from the Blue House which ultimately resulted in the Justice Minister’s order not to arrest.

Since then, it seems the 386ers have had their thumbs all over the prosecution. Whether that has led to this Lone Star investigation or not remains to be seen. Is there an anti-foreign witch hunt in progress? Maybe, maybe not — but the surest way to make sure it’s perceived as such is to try to muzzle the foreign press.

The last muzzling action against the foreign press, to my recollection, was against Steve Glain at the Wall Street Journal because in 1995 or 1996 he had the temerity to suggest the Korean government officials routinely take bribes — this was at the same time I edited a Korean law professor’s article on the very same topic for the Pacific Rim Law & Policy Journal at the University of Washington Law School. Although the prosecution determined not to indict him for criminal defamation (no doubt after some hard “investigation” at the prosecutors’ office), Steve was eventually hounded out of Korea. Anna Fifield’s a repeat offender: She also published the “schizophrenic” description of government policy on foreign investment. I hope the FT keeps its spine up, or that Anna’s ready for her next assignment with the Financial Times. She’s a lovely woman in addition to being smart.