Samsung Caught Bribing Government Officials

Dekortage writes "Allegedly, electronics giant Samsung Electronics attempted to bribe a South Korean government official with 5 million won (US$5,445). Ironically, the official was Lee Yong-chul, who was a presidential monitor against corruption at the time. This is the latest allegation against Samsung, which was recently accused of running 'a vast network of bribery through the government, the judiciary branch and the news media' that reaches all the way to South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun."

I want my share

[telchine (719345)]

Who's going to pay me not to criticise them in my comment?

Has Samsung learned nothing from the U.S.?!?!

[elrous0 (869638)]

Hey Samsung, you don't bribe OUTRIGHT! The smart way to do it is through major contributions to "non-political" nonprofits (like "Focus on the Family" or moveon.org) and hosting generous fundraisers for candidates where all your employees and anyone else you can muster show up at $2,000 a plate.

Geez, handing a politician an actual suitcase full of cash went out with Huey Long. The smart companies figured out long ago that there were much better, technically legal, ways to bribe their politicians.

Re:

[15Bit (940730)]

But thats the US. Different cultures, different bribes.

Re:Has Samsung learned nothing from the U.S.?!?!

[Asmodai (13932)]

Oh that's so true.

In South Korea and Japan giving gifts to business acquaintances is very common. Here in the Netherlands and some other countries such things are commonly forbidden in employee contracts as they're considered bribes.

That's the problem of viewing events only from your local cultural perspective.

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[elrous0 (869638)]

This guy wasn't a business acquaintance though, he was a government official (charged with rooting out government corruption, no less). And they weren't even smart enough to give him a GIFT (like jewelry or a TV or something). It was an actual honest-to-god pile of cash.

I'm pretty sure bribing government officials with large bundles of cash is legally frowned on in most industrialized countries.

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[antifoidulus (807088)]

Yeah, I mean the bastards were too lazy to buy the official the high class hooker directly! He had to go take his cash, head down to the brothel, you get the idea. The nerve of some people!

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[elrous0 (869638)]

Hey, good enough for the Bush family [cnn.com], good enough for a South Korean politician.

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[Admiral Ag (829695)]

I live in Korea. Bribery is a way of life in business here. It used to be far worse. Lee Myung Bak, the conservative candidate for the upcoming presidential election is being hounded for corrupt business practices from decades ago. I don't like the guy, but this is unfair, since you simply couldn't be in business at the time without engaging in massive bribery. To its credit the government has essentially declared war on graft, but old habits die hard. A few companies have apparently sworn to avoid it as we

Re:Has Samsung learned nothing from the U.S.?!?!

[evilviper (135110)]

Even better: give government officials high paying jobs in your company, the day they leave office.

Maybe even jobs where they directly lobby the government in your company's interests.

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[Tim Browse (9263)]

Geez, handing a politician an actual suitcase full of cash went out with Huey Long. The smart companies figured out long ago that there were much better, technically legal, ways to bribe their politicians.

Yeah, I mean, you'd think they'd know that in Korea, cash bribes are for old people.

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[WindBourne (631190)]

And as somebody who lives in their back yard, what you say is incorrect. Dobson has been cuaght a number of times pushing candidates and ppl just below him pushing all sorts of money. The only difference between MoveOn, Club for Growth vs. Moral Majority, the Catholic church, and FotF, is that the later pretend to be about religion. They are ALL about pushing their agendas.

South Korea

[Junky191 (549088)]

I've spent enough time there to know that token respect bribes are just a part of how business gets done. I'm sure most of the large corporations are doing the same, it just seems Samsung slipped up and got caught.

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[Rogerborg (306625)]

Mmm, this is just a storm in a teacup. The politicians have to pretend to be outraged every so often, but the entire economy is predicated on passing bribes. If they really stopped taking bribes, then their salaries would have to rise sharply in order to support the lifestyles of their families and mistresses, and I don't see South Korean taxpayers being too happy about that either.

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[by Anonymous Coward]

I'd expect it's as big a part of their culture as China.
Hardware certification testing for example, and most certainly all the recently recalled toys, are all effected by this, companies doing 'testing' in China, even if their management aren't aware of it, are often not actually testing products at all, a bribe is paid to an test engineer, the paperwork is done.

There are Chinese staff (in China) that are having to be told by international investors, to stop taking bribes (effectively halving their wage) ot

What they didn't mention

[swb311 (1165753)]

That it was $5,000 worth of old Samsung CRTs.

A vast network of bribery in South Korea...

[digitaldc (879047)]

...also known as Washington lobbyists in the United States.

Bribery? In Southeast Asia?

[b96miata (620163)]

This is unheard of. We must stop samsung before this sort of behavior spreads and becomes endemic to countries in the region.

stupid stupid stupid

[spikedvodka (188722)]

it's somehow amazing how stupid some people can be, and doubly so when you look at companies, where there really should be some checks and balances in place.

but come on... a ~$5000 bribe? if you want to bribe me, you'd better cough up more than that

but seriously, What would samsung write that off as when the auditor came to visit? (or more likely would they just bribe the auditor as well)

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[gEvil (beta) (945888)]

but seriously, What would samsung write that off as when the auditor came to visit? (or more likely would they just bribe the auditor as well)

Hell, that's petty cash for a few lunches with some bigwigs. And whoops, the guy in charge forgot to get receipts.

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[Rogerborg (306625)]

In Korea, "stupid" is not offering a bribe.

$5000 is about right. It's easy to spend, it's not too big to make the recipient nervous about how much is expected, and it's not too small to insult them. Unless they're on an anti-bribery crusade, of course, which I assume is just a political ploy to get into higher office and therefore receive real bribes.

It's all filed under 'hospitality', and accepted as such. You shouldn't assume that auditors follow the same standards globally.

Consistency is Not Irony

[Doc Ruby (173196)]

Ironically, the official was Lee Yong-chul, who was a presidential monitor against corruption at the time.

That's not "irony". That's evidence that Samsung was also bribing or otherwise corrupting the government that Lee was paid not to monitor.

Even Alanis Morissette [lyrics007.com] knows that bribing a cop to freely rob a house isn't "ironic".

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[DoofusOfDeath (636671)]

That's not "irony". That's evidence that Samsung was also bribing or otherwise corrupting the government that Lee was paid not to monitor.

Are you kidding? This is the very essence of irony. The anti-bribery guy was (allegedly) bribed. It's very much like the firemen accidentally burning down the firehouse.

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[Red Flayer (890720)]

Ironically, the official was Lee Yong-chul, who was a presidential monitor against corruption at the time.

That's not "irony". That's evidence that Samsung was also bribing or otherwise corrupting the government that Lee was paid not to monitor.

No, that's pretty much the definition of irony, though the writer messed up when ordering their sentence. It should have read:

Ironically, the bribed official was a presidential monitor against corruption named Lee Yong-chul.

See the difference there? There's not

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[gEvil (beta) (945888)]

That's the ironic part -- it turns out that a presidential monitor against corruption was indeed corrupt!

And if you'd bother to RTFA, you'd see that the presidential monitor against corruption was not corrupt at all--he's one of the people saying that Samsung tried to bribe him, but that he refused it. Which means that there is no irony at all, since the guy who's against corruption proves himself not to be corrupt.

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[Red Flayer (890720)]

Please, read into it a little deeper.

Government official accepts offer of gift, but returns it when he sees it is cash, not items (Cash raises a red flag -- maybe he thought he was being targeted by an investigation). Does not file complaint, does not report to his superiors, does nothing until someone else goes public and it appears he may be caught up in the investigation.

This is not the case of a whistle-blower doing a public service; this is the case of a guilty party (who freely admits accepting the

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[mpe (36238)]

There's nothing ironic about some guy $NAME being bribed, but, one would expect that an offical designated as a monitor against corruption would be incorruptible. That's the ironic part -- it turns out that a presidential monitor against corruption was indeed corrupt!

Really? Sounds like he refused the bribe whilst documenting the bribary attempt.

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[Red Flayer (890720)]

He came forward when it appeared that he might get caught up in the investigation. This reeks of CYA. Furthermore, his documentation of the bribe reeks of extortion/blackmail -- and any value of his information for blackmail was lost as soon as another whistleblower came forward.

The article paints a pretty clear picture that this guy is not straightlaced. There's a reason he admits to accepting the offer of a gift, and downplays it. He knew how the game was played, and played it well -- and now he's co

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[Chrisq (894406)]

Of course a monitor against corruption is the ideal position to be in if you want to receive bribes. As soon as you discover a bribe you can report it or ask for a cut.

Talk about a cheap date

[UbuntuDupe (970646)]

I didn't know you could buy off such a major official for only $5500. "Oh, sure, I'll risk public shame and losing all my influence in exchange for a week's pay."

911

[chiefer (1050460)]

no wonder my Samsung cell keep dialing 911 inadvertently...

Don't worry...

[localman (111171)]

...the market will work it out

Corruption everywhere

[TheBearBear (1103771)]

I grew up a bit naive, believing my country is different from others in terms of corruption, with all our checks and balances and just our culture. In other countries where corruption runs high, people just accept it as a way of life. But now I am reading all about corruption in my country and it just made me realize that our form corruption is most dangerous. Corruption hides behind all these wack laws and loopholes so alot of times we won't/can't recognize it as corruption, while other poor countries - tho they are off worse - know full well what it is.

You see, those countries' peoples will have a chance to fight because they know what it is. Depends on how bad they're willing to shed blood. THat's why their "leaders" rule with an iron hand. They're AFRAID OF THE PEOPLE. US, on the other hand - we don't even have the will to fight. We're too comfortable. Corruption THRIVES on this. Corruption doesn't have to rule with an iron hand. They know the sheep are fat and lazy.

We've all taken the red pill.

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[Red Flayer (890720)]

Yes, yes, and we drank the kool-aid and put the blinders on ourselves, the monkey sees no evil, and the red wombat brays northwards at the moon.

Corruption doesn't have to rule with an iron hand. They know the sheep are fat and lazy.

We've all taken the red pill.

Let me see if I get this straight:
In capitalist America, the piggy sheep welcome their medicating velvet-gloved overlords (profit)?

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[Red Flayer (890720)]

Oh, I fully agree with you, but my personal perspective has changed.

When I was young and idealistic, I wanted to help the sheep rise up.

When I became older and more ambitious, I wanted to be the shepherd.

When I got even older and jaded, I realized that if I worked for the farm, I'd only ever get to be the sheepdog.

Now that I'm a relatively old cynic, I'm content to be a coyote -- too sharp to be herded, but not above using the farmer to get what I need.

another slashdot "editing" moment

[gEvil (beta) (945888)]

This is another one of those slashdot moments that could easily be fixed with a bit of that pesky "editing" that the editors around here seem to loathe. Nearly every comment I'm reading talks about how the government official was corrupt, but a simple read of the article shows that he in fact REFUSED the bribe. There is no hypocrisy there--he is in charge of monitoring bribery in the government, Samsung attempted to bribe him, he refused it and is now using their attempt in a government case against Samsung. That is EXACTLY what he's supposed to be doing!

Re:another slashdot "editing" moment

[Red Flayer (890720)]

There's another explanation that makes far more sense given the timeframe and the public statements made by the officials in question.

Nearly every comment I'm reading talks about how the government official was corrupt, but a simple read of the article shows that he in fact REFUSED the bribe

Reading the article will show that he ACCEPTED the bribe, then only refused it when he saw it was cold hard cash.

There is no hypocrisy there--he is in charge of monitoring bribery in the government, Samsung attempted to bribe him, he refused it and is now using their attempt in a government case against Samsung.

No. Another official blew the whistle on the widespread bribery, and Lee has come forward in order to cover his own ass. After almost three years, Lee did nothing -- didn't come forward, didn't report the attempted bribe to his superiors, didn't do anything except accept a job in the industry (outside of government) -- until the shit had already started to hit the fan.

Would it surprise anyone if the private firm Lee Yong-chul now works for has competitors of Samsung on its client list?

Furthermore, would it surprise anyone if Lee Yong-chul garnered evidence of the bribe attempt for a reason different than whistle-blowing? Extortion/blackmail, perhaps? When the scandal becaome public (through the statements of Kim Yong-chul), Lee Yong-chul's documentation of the briber attempt became relatively worthless. What better way to try to save his own arse than by going public?

Note also that Lee's role in investigating government corruption was prompted by the revelation that President Roh (his boss) was involved in a bribery/corrpution/slush fund scandal during the 2002 election campaign. Lee reeks of corruption as badly as the rest, but was smart enough to engineer a way to come out looking somewhat clean.

5M Won

[Nom du Keyboard (633989)]

5 million won (US$5,445)

Sure sounds a lot more impressive as 5 MILLION won.

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[Admiral Ag (829695)]

Believe me, it isn't.

Apparently in an attempt to make it harder to bribe people, the highest denomination banknote here is 10,000 won, which is about ten dollars (a 50,000 won note is in the works). I bought a mac with cash, and it was like trying to buy a loaf of bread in Germany in 1929. I almost needed a wheelbarrow to transport the full amount.

Sales poor?

[lymond01 (314120)]

I read in Time magazine (yes, the near-leftist weekly reminder of recent pop history) that "Americans purchase 7600 Samsung LCDs per day". I'm guessing that is both TVs and monitors. Still...per day. I think in the most profitable stage of my burgeoning sales career, I only sold 15 cups of lemonade in one day. Perhaps if I'd bribed local officials....

This is not news

[holywarrior21c (933929)]

As early as 60s in Korea, Govn't have been helping chaebols http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaebol/ [wikipedia.org] in the effort to push industrialization. This is not news and oftentimes government officials were found laundrying billions of korean won making laws in favor of giants or chaebols in Korea. in korea samsung has its own nicknames like "samsung empire", "republic of samsung". just like microsoft has been often favored by the court and govn't, samsung will remain bully for sometime until there are like 10 another samsung-like-giants in Korea. what do samsung do? electronics, heavy industries, weapons, entertainment....investing in samsung stock is like investing in index fund of some country...it's madness!

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[RandoX (828285)]

But 5 grand could still be written off as a 'gift'. Plausible deniability.

"Bribe? What bribe? That was a holiday gift."

If they dropped $250k in his lap, that's a bribe. Hard to talk your way out of that one.

Re:Bribing the monitor against corruption

[Cornflake917 (515940)]

If someone dropped 250k in my lap, I wouldn't say anything, not a damn word. 5k, however, is a little shallow for a bribe. I would say it's worth it for the respect you could get for coming clean about it.

In conclusion, I think Samsung should give me 250k so I can prove my point.

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[elrous0 (869638)]

It's the classic Homegrown [imdb.com] dilema. Bribe the cop too much, and he expects it from them on. Bribe him too little and he is insulted and busts you.

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[east coast (590680)]

No lie, that's what they told me to do. A real shame, because I really like the MP3 player. In fact, I'm still considering getting the "Sansa Shakers" for my kids.

I expected a better punchline from a comedian.

Seriously, I think it's refreshing that they basically came out and said "Our unit can not suit your needs, you should look elsewhere" instead of giving you the common businessman runaround.

The guys at tech support doubtlessly have no control over what platforms are supported in conjunction with w

Ahh, sterotyping...

[StressGuy (472374)]

First off, you make a valid point, but let me speak to this statement.

"I expected a better punchline from a comedian"

Comedians, do actually have the ability to speak seriously on a subject. I'm not busting on you, it's just an observation. This one particular vocation seems to draw that kind of attitude. People seem to think that we are "on" all the time. Honestly, thank goodness I'm not, that would just be annoying wouldn't it? When I'm not on stage, I'm actually a pretty quiet, to myself person. A l

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[east coast (590680)]

Comedians, do actually have the ability to speak seriously on a subject. I'm not busting on you, it's just an observation.

Observe also that my next sentence started off with "Seriously"... (ie. It was a joke, don't get too uptight about it)

Oh crap, you're right.....

[StressGuy (472374)]

I stand corrected....or, to quote Rosanne Rosanadana, "...nevermind..."

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[Otter (3800)]

I stand corrected....or, to quote Rosanne Rosanadana, "...nevermind..."

No, that's Emily Litella. Roseanne Rosannadanna's catchphrase was "...it's always something."

Incidentally, what did you want Sandisk tech support to do, code up a Linux updater? Telling you to either live with your old firmware or get refund seems perfectly reasonable.

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[StressGuy (472374)]

I expected them to tell me how to load their firmware without the automated Windows program. This option is available on one of their other players, so I thought it might be available for this one. So, I actually did have a basis for asking the question. ...and you're right, it was Emily Litella......been a long time since I've seen the original (and still the best) SNL

Rockbox

[StressGuy (472374)]

I have, and I'm continuing to monitor it, but I don't want to "brick" my MP3 player.