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| President Park Geun-hye / Korea Times file |
By Lee Han-soo, Park Si-soo
The Constitutional Court's ruling has conferred on former President Park Geun-hye a shameful ticket to join the league of disgraced leaders. Now she sees her name tarnished irreparably. And the only way for her to seek recovery would be to make thorough preparations for an investigation and beg for court mercy.
Here are her predecessors whose reputations were damaged significantly after being embroiled in ugly scandals triggered by themselves, close friends or family members.
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| Former President Syngman Rhee / Korea Times file |
Syngman Rhee (Aug. 15, 1945-April 26, 1960)
The lineage of presidential disgrace goes back to Syngman Rhee, South Korea's first President. He stepped down on April 26, 1960, after a series of nationwide protests over a vote-rigging scandal linked to the presidential election on March 15, 1960.
Public anger reached its peak after a student protester was killed by a police tear gas canister in Masan on April 14, 1960. After resignation, Rhee lived in exile in Hawaii, where he died on July, 28 1965.
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| Former President Park Chung-hee / Korea Times file |
Park Chung-hee (Dec. 17, 1963-Oct. 26, 1979)
Park Chung-hee is the father of incumbent President Park Geun-hye. He came to power through a military coup on May 19, 1961, and became Korea's third President on Dec. 17, 1963.
He is credited with the country's dramatic economic rise, but is also criticized for his iron-fisted governing style. He amended the Constitution and gained unrestricted power in all three powers of the government.
His dictatorship faced a strong backlash, but he put this down with brute force. In the process, many anti-Park politicians, activists and students were tortured or killed.
His wife, Yuk Young-soo, was assassinated by a Japanese-born North Korean on Aug. 15 1974. And Park was assassinated by his spy chief on Oct. 26, 1979.
It was confirmed that the spy chief informed him of an "inappropriate relationship" between his eldest daughter, Park Geun-hye, and Choi Tae-min, a cult leader and father of Choi Soon-sil, the central figure in the ongoing corruption scandal, but he ignored the warning.
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| Former President Chun Doo-hwan / Korea Times file |
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| Former President Roh Tae-woo / Korea Times file |
Chun Doo-hwan (Sept. 1, 1980-Feb. 24, 1988) and Roh Tae-woo (Feb. 25, 1988-Feb. 24, 1993)
After Park Chung-hee's assassination Choi Kyu-ha, then Prime Minister, became the nation's first acting President. His presidency lasted less than a year because Army General Chun Doo-hwan grabbed power in a military coup on Dec. 12 1979.
Chun's regime faced a violent uprising in Gwangju in May 1980 and the solider-turned-politician responded with a bloody crackdown. He also raked in huge illegal gains while in office. Amid intense pressure for him to adopt a democratic governing system, Chun promised to find his successor through a nationwide presidential election.
Roh Tae-woo became the nation's first democratically elected president in February 1988. Roh is credited with keeping the momentum of economic growth and the successfully hosting the 1988 Seoul Olympics. But he is also criticized for a brutal crackdown on his political foes. It later turned out that Roh was as corrupt as his predecessor.
Chun and Roh stood trial on charges including bribery, mutiny and treason, and were given lengthy jail sentences.
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| Former President Kim Young-sam / Korea Times file |
Kim Young-sam (Feb. 25, 1993-Feb. 24, 1998)
President Kim Young-sam was credited with commanding Korea's largest anti-corruption campaign. His two predecessors were jailed for corruption and other charges during his time in office. He is also credited with boosting transparency of the nation's financial transaction system. But his feats were overshadowed by a series of ugly scandals involving his son and confidants.
During his presidency, the cozy relationship between business and politics was brought into the limelight for the first time.
In 1997, the bankruptcy of Hanbo Steel caused a domino bankruptcy of numerous companies, including Kia Motors and constructor Hansin. The nation's credit rates dived, dealing a devastating blow to its foreign currency reserves.
This led Kim's administration to accept a $58 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.
Kim's reputation was also tarnished by an influence-peddling scandal involving his son, for which Kim apologized publicly.
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| Former President Kim Dae-jung / Korea Times file |
Kim Dae-jung (Feb. 25, 1998-Feb. 24, 2003)
President Kim Dae-jung became the first South Korean to receive Nobel Prize (in peace) in 2000. He was touted for boosting the inter-Korean relationship with his "Sunshine policy," but he was also trapped in a corruption scandal toward the end of his presidency.
His reputation was damaged by an influence-peddling scandal involving his two sons, for which he delivered a public apology and left his own Millennium Democratic Party.
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| Former President Roh Moo-hyun / Korea Times file |
Roh Moo-hyun (Feb. 25, 2003-Feb. 24, 2008)
President Roh Moo-hyun is credited with ending the era of authoritarianism. But his reputation suffered toward the end of his term, like his predecessors, after being embroiled in a corruption scandal involving his elder brother and billionaire friends.
The prosecution investigated the scandal after his resignation. Amid widening probe and criticism, Roh jumped to his death from a mountain cliff behind his house in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, on May 23, 2009.
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| Former President Lee Myung-bak / Korea Times file |
Lee Myung-bak (Feb. 25, 2008-Feb. 24, 2013)
Lee Myung-bak was embroiled in a fraud scandal even before he was elected President. And his leadership was also badly damaged by protests over imports of allegedly unhealthy beef from the United States in 2008.
While Lee has never the target of investigation by the prosecution, his elder brother, close friends and confidants were punished for various illegal acts.
