Furgate ( ''oslobi sageon''), also known as the clothes bribery scandal, or the clothes-for-lobbying scandal, refers to the late-1990s corruption and scandal involving senior

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

n government figures and their wives, who took bribes and spent the proceeds on luxury items, primarily furs and jewelry. The resulting scandal and trial that began in 1999 and ended in 2000. Since the 1990s it has been described in South Korea as one of the largest scandals ever. Estimated loss from bribery and corruption related to the Furgate scandal was approximately $165 million.

History

The scandal surfaced in South Korea in May 1999 while prosecutors were investigating corruption charges related to the Shin Dong Ah company. Luxury items were used by wives of businessmen under investigation for corruption to gain favors of the wives of senior Korean politicians and judicial officials, in order to have those wives persuade their husbands towards leniency. The investigation into the scandal led to the first ever appointment of a

special prosecutor In the United States, a special counsel (formerly called special prosecutor or independent counsel) is a lawyer appointed to investigate, and potentially prosecute, a particular case of suspected wrongdoing for which a conflict of interest exis ...

in South Korea judicial history. Two ministers resigned over the scandal; a former

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

and a former presidential legal

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a w ...

were among the individuals arrested during the investigation. Individuals sentenced in the scandal included the wives of a former unification minister and of a former

prosecutor general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, found guilty of

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

before the Korean parliament (National Assembly).

Impact

The scandal was revealed in the midst of the Korean economic crisis related to the

Asian financial crisis of 1997 The Asian financial crisis was a period of financial crisis that gripped much of East Asia and Southeast Asia beginning in July 1997 and raised fears of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion. However, the recovery in 1998–1 ...

, and led to moral outrage. The scandal damaged the reputation of Korean president

Kim Dae-jung Kim Dae-jung (; ; 6 January 192418 August 2009), was a South Korea, South Korean politician and activist who served as the eighth president of South Korea from 1998 to 2003. He was a 2000 Nobel Peace Prize recipient for his work for democra ...

and his party (the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

), particularly when further information was revealed to suggest that the prosecutor office attempted to cover up the scandal.

References

{{reflist 1999 crimes in South Korea 1999 scandals Corruption in South Korea Kim Dae-jung Political scandals in South Korea May 1999 events in Asia