South Koreans Ponder Just How Far Corruption Reaches | LA Times

January 27, 2004

South Koreans Ponder Just How Far Corruption Reaches
A widening bribery scandal prompts examination of a give-and-take culture.

By Barbara Demick, Times Staff Writer

SEOUL — The money used to arrive in apple crates.

Now, it comes by the truckload. The only thing that has changed in South Korea, cynics say, is the size of the container.

As prosecutors dig into the financing of the last presidential election, they're unearthing some unseemly secrets. In the months before the December 2002 contest won by Roh Moo Hyun, about $50 million in illegal contributions changed hands as South Korea's largest corporations tried to curry favor with the political parties. More than a dozen people — assemblymen, party hacks and moguls — have been arrested so far.

Because South Korean currency comes in such small denominations that it is a logistical feat to make a payoff of any consequence, the scandals have taken on a quality of high farce.

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The largest note that is circulated in South Korea is the 10.000 Won note, which is around $9.00....



EDIT: to get a better image of the 10.000 Won note