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Anti-corruption advice for
Korea - The Korea Times interviews Domenico Pacitti
The
Korea Times (Seoul)
February 11 2004
Lee Chang-sup
From 1992 to 1995, Italy was the focus of international media for its unprecedented effort to drive out corrupt politicians, businessmen and government officials. The drive, dubbed the Clean Hands initiative, resulted in the arrest of a large number of high-profile politicians and businessmen implicated in dirty money deals.
More than a decade later, Korea is doing the same thing, which is shaking the basic foundation of the way politicians mobilize funds and businessmen do business.
To find the similarities and differences of Korea and Italy's respective Clean Hands drives, The Korea Times interviewed Domenico Pacitti, who is considered to be one of the world's leading experts on Italian corruption.
Here is the summary of our interview with
Pacitti.
Korea Times: What are the
similarities between Italy and Korea in rooting out corruption?
Domenico
Pacitti: The striking similarities are the large scale and
uncompromising sweep of both anti-corruption drives, their bulldozer-like action
and the dramatic consequences in terms of prominent arrests and imprisonments.
In both cases corruption centers on relations between high industry and
politics, notably the illegal funding of political parties.
Korea Times: What are the
differences?
Pacitti: First, the Korean anti-corruption
drive followed democratic elections in 1987 and is at present fully active. So
there is some degree of continuity and consistency. Operation Clean Hands, on
the other hand, arose as a complete anomaly in Italian history and was
predictably short-lived. The Italian operation began in 1992 and was virtually
extinguished in 1995, though there were later unsuccessful attempts to revive
it.
Secondly, the Korean drive arose as a government
initiative and, to my knowledge, no prosecutors were ever singled out as heroes
or villains. In Italy, the operation was entirely due to the initiative of a
pool of magistrates in Milan and was strongly opposed by politicians. One
prosecutor, Antonio Di Pietro, was first acclaimed as a national hero and later
branded a villain.
Thirdly, as far as I can see, Korean words and
intentions have been matched by actions in the sense that the sentences actually
get carried out in full accordance with the law. In Italy, the combination of a
cunning Machiavellian mentality on the part of politicians and the prevalence of
forgiveness over justice grotesquely transformed the entire undertaking. It
turned into the customary Italian circus-like comedy with guilty politicians
being freed, reinstated and actually re-entering parliament.
Finally, systematically distorted media coverage
in Italy shifted initial public support for the judiciary to the politicians.
This was orchestrated by the few men responsible for most of the Italian media,
including current premier Silvio Berlusconi. Korean media coverage so far, at
least in the case of the Korea Times, appears to be unbiased, transparent and
correct.
Korea Times: Do you think Italy has
become clean of corruption a decade after the widespread anti-corruption drive?
Pacitti: Absolutely not. On the contrary,
corruption is at least as bad as before and probably even much worse. But it is
now subtler and better concealed.
Italian politicians have had the advantage of
studying and understanding how they were taken by surprise and how to avoid a
repetition.
Italian politicians have been working hard on
introducing new legislation to decriminalize previously criminal acts and plug
inconvenient loopholes. Italians are past masters and proven world leaders not
only in corruption but also in the twin arts of circumventing laws and
legislating in order to circumvent them in the future. The next step in ensuring
political impunity in corruption is Berlusconi's plan for a radical reform of
the judiciary.
Korea Times: What lessons could
Koreans learn from the Italian Clean Hands initiative?
Pacitti: Confucius taught that in order to
understand the correct way to behave in a given situation, there is no better
lesson than to observe someone behave in the wrong way and then to learn from
those mistakes. In this context, the important lessons are all negative and most
of the crucial Italian errors are contained in my reply to your second question.
The fact that the Korean drive began as a major
political initiative has set your country on the right path and it has already
avoided many of the Italian pitfalls. So Korea must avoid Italian-style U-turns,
resist all counter pressures and carry the work through to its final conclusion.
On the other hand, Korea has no shortage of
lessons to teach Italy and other countries, including the fact that
democratization does not have to be synonymous with Americanization. That your
anti-corruption operation is in full swing today notwithstanding two Korean
presidents were themselves convicted on corruption charges, is a sign of great
strength, not weakness.
It is instructive to compare Italy in this
regard. When former Italian president Oscar Luigi Scalfaro found himself accused
of having stolen the equivalent of 52,000 euros a month for four years, he
simply refused to reply and called Clean Hands Italy's most shameful and ignoble
scandal, adding that it was even worse than the car bombings which had been
taking place at the time and which had been attributed to the Mafia.
Korea has surprised the world and overtaken many
of its competitors with its economic success. I think it has all the credentials
in terms of dynamic drive and a healthy, dynamic and forward-looking mentality
as opposed to the diseased, static and backward-looking Italian mentality to
lead the way also in combating corruption.
Korea Times: What advice would you
give Korean prosecutors, politicians and voters?
Pacitti: Public prosecutors should
continue to treat everyone equally before the law and to impose stiff penalties,
also for their deterrent value. They should show no political preferences,
should not enter politics themselves and should beware of being manipulated. No
individual prosecutor should seek the limelight or try to become a hero. This
means keeping away from the media.
Politicians should never forget that it is their
privilege and duty to serve the best interests of their country and of the
voters who elected them. They should understand, above all, that their example
automatically sets the limits to corrupt or honest behavior among the
population. They should try to introduce positive measures to encourage honesty
in addition to negative ones to discourage corruption. Eradicating corruption
should not be allowed to become the prerogative of any one political party but
should be an ongoing common, cross-party effort.
Voters should use their votes to elect honest
politicians, get rid of the corrupt ones and ensure that no single individual
controls too much political, economic and media power. They should remain
vigilant and never be afraid to speak out and report corruption, and they should
learn to honor no man above the truth. Voters should organize themselves to this
end and set up watchdog commissions with appropriate use of the Internet.
Korea Times: What are the
advantages and disadvantages of such an operation? What are the dangers? What
would be required if it is to succeed?
Pacitti: It all depends on your
perspective. According to Berlusconi, for example, there are no advantages. At
least, that is what he told the Bulgarian government two years ago on a visit to
Sofia when he said, "Do not follow the example of our action against
corruption", meaning forget Clean Hands and concerted anti-corruption
drives. Well, Berlusconi has had 13 criminal cases against him, including
involvement in Mafia killings, and has managed to escape all of them and has
even had new legislation passed in order to facilitate this.
On the other hand, the potential advantages of
such an operation to a country like Korea are inestimably high, provided it
succeeds. The chief danger is that failure would lower credibility. Enduring
success will ultimately depend on Korean resolution and good will and on the
concerted efforts of the Korean people.
Korea Times: Do you think Korea's
image overseas has been tainted just because of the Korean Clean Hands
initiative?
Pacitti: Only in the short term and in the
eyes of Korea's competitors and enemies. Corruption goes on everywhere but many
countries choose to hide it or to reveal only the tip of the iceberg like Enron
in the U.S. or Parmalat in Italy. In the latter case, if it were not for the
strength of the euro, Italy's economic credibility would deservedly have
collapsed like a pack of cards.
For Koreans to have had the courage to identify
corruption, proclaim it and combat it is a great honor and reflects well on
Koreans and Korean credibility.
Korea Times: Do you think the
anti-corruption probe will have a negative impact on the economy?
Pacitti: Only in the short term. But Korea
must look beyond this. A conclusive Korean triumph over large-scale corruption
would not only greatly increase the political and economic strength, efficiency
and credibility of your country, while providing a lasting lesson to Koreans
that crime does not pay, but it would also stand as an excellent example to
other countries, including Italy, of how to succeed in what has so far proved an
impossible task in the West – eradicating corruption.
Domenico Pacitti is a British writer and academic
of third generation Italian origin who has taught at the University of Pisa
since 1985. He is editor of the human rights journal JUST Response,
(www.justresponse.net), which is based in London & Rome. Lee Chang-sup is Business Editor of The Korea
Times.