An independent counsel asked a local court Monday to issue a warrant to detain Lee Jae-yong, the third-generation leader of Samsung Group, on charges of offering bribes to a longtime friend of President Park Geun-hye in return for the president’s influence to support a controversial merger at the country’s largest conglomerate.
Virtually every Korean president in history has inevitably gone down in flames in corruption-related scandals. To eradicate another recurrence of this "South Korean disease", comprehensive constitutional reform is the only solution. Separation of powers and checks and balances must be included as well as direct election of the heads of the four government branches of government in alternating years. Secondly, the President must function as the guarantor of the constitution, a duty that shall not end when he or she leaves office. See the Charter for Permanent Peace and Development.
