Italy has its Mafia, Japan has its yakuza, and China has its Triads. Here in Korea, we have "jopok" - organized crime rings. Not a day passes without people reading, hearing or watching this word on local media. The biggest blockbuster films are about gangs. In real life, too, a ringleader has even testified at the National Assembly. Gangsters are hardly new existences in this country but recent popular spotlights on them indicate how lawless and unhealthy this society has become.
One of the most noticeable - and worrisome - trends is the "upgraded" operational pattern of these mobs. Loan-sharking, one of their major income sources, is now being done through financing companies, with the core elements of exorbitant interests and violence on debtors remaining unchanged or even worsened. Likewise, those who used to supply sub-standard construction materials by force are building or remodeling apartments themselves.
Also noteworthy is the sharply expanded radius of their activities. Of course, these racketeers have not abandoned their "traditional" lines, such as extortion, kidnapping and drug trafficking as well as running bars and brothels. Increasingly, however, the black-suited hooligans with crew cuts and wide shoulders are being seen at the sites of labor disturbances and even around the stumping sessions of by- and re-elections.
What concerns us most, however, are their persistent attempts - and success to a considerable extent - to "legitimize" themselves and their activities. A recent government auction, for instance, was turned into a gathering of senior gang leaders, including some retired rogues. With the criteria of a boss' influence shifting from physical to financial power, the murky local stock market has long become the playing ground of the cash-laden ringleaders.
Sometimes disguised as venture capitalists, they made quick bucks mostly on inside information and market manipulation. When things went wrong, the thugs snatched the management of debtor firms. To obtain information as well as avoid taxation and possible arrests, they developed close relationships with bureaucrats, law enforcement officers and politicians at "schools for top managers" and maintained them through bribes, parties and golf invitations.
Most representative of this case is the ongoing "Lee Yong-ho gate," a real-life financial scandal drama, produced by a corporate restructuring con artist and starred by almost all sectors of the establishment - the police, prosecution, administration and the political community. Linking them all was a "jopok" leader, who the opposition party says is closely associated with two of the most influential figures of the ruling party, including the eldest son of President Kim Dae-jung.
Like Mafia and Triads that originated from groups to defend their community or country from oppressors but were turned into public enemy No. 1 later, the Korean gangs started to protect local commercial supremacy from the Japanese merchants in colonial days but now serve to no one's interest but their own. Totaling about 4,200 in 200 factions, some of them are reportedly being equipped with firearms like their foreign counterparts and seeking an international alliance.
Ironically enough, the organized crime, which kept a low profile under the stifling dictatorships, is reemerging with the democratization. Some cite the society's overall generosity toward or even admiration of - particularly among the youth - the mobs, as seen by the recent box office hits filled with brutal violence and obscenities. Despite some imitation murders, it is fair to say the moviemakers have capitalized on the social trends rather than producing them.
It is heartening in this regard to hear the prosecution declare a war against criminal organizations. But we also have to confess we don't expect too much of it, having seen all the suspected links between crime rings and politicians and the prosecutors as the tool of both. The police reportedly experiences difficulties in tracking the thugs as the victims won't give statements. As an old saying goes, "The fists are much nearer than the law" in today's Korea.
President Kim, who has put much stress on human rights and genuine democracy, must find it quite disappointing. His government will also go all out to win this war ahead of major elections. Come to think of it, however, it should not be the issue of specific leaders or administrations but of all political parties, social sectors and the people. Each of us has to stand guard against violent elements within our society, as democracy is nothing without peace and justice