Published on November 26, 2019.
This article presents the epilogue “The Retribution of Anti-Japanese Tribalism” by Lee Young-hoon, examining the economic stagnation, political division, and culture of falsehood spreading throughout South Korea.
It discusses shrinking corporate investment, misguided minimum-wage policy, the national rupture caused by presidential impeachment, and the prevalence of perjury, false accusations, insurance fraud, and civil litigation, arguing that a corrupted culture tolerant of lies drags the nation into confusion and stagnation.

November 26, 2019
This country is a world of lies.
The crimes of perjury and false accusation are several hundred times more frequent than in Japan.
Various forms of insurance fraud are rampant at a rate one hundred times greater than in the United States.
Epilogue: The Retribution of Anti-Japanese Tribalism
Lee Young-hoon
Melancholy Days
At present, this country is in crisis in every sphere: economy, politics, and society.
It is a latent crisis, one that no one knows when will become visible.
It has been twenty years since economic growth began to show a slowing trend.
Corporate investment has gradually been shrinking.
When there is a latent crisis, who on earth would invest?
For that reason, good-quality workplaces for young people have been decreasing.
The radical increase in the minimum wage is threatening the very existence of the self-employed and small merchants and manufacturers.
The livelihood of ordinary people is becoming even more difficult.
The government clings to clumsy policies whose consequences could have been fully predicted.
That is because amateur forces in power, unable to understand the reality and characteristics of the South Korean economy, cling to policies oriented toward distribution and one-sided regulation.
The political situation is even darker.
Since the sinking of the Sewol ferry in 2014, South Korea’s free citizens have experienced an unimaginable and enormous disaster.
Even now, when I look back on those matters, my feelings only become confused.
The series of political processes that led to the impeachment of the president illustrates, almost like a textbook example, how great a disorder is caused when incompetent and irresponsible politicians seize power.
When power showed weakness, how cruel the masses became.
A performance in which the clothes of the female president were stripped off, she was bound, her head was cut off, and her corpse was carried away was forcibly staged in a public square in broad daylight.
How despicable the politicians were.
The forces that betrayed the president and led the impeachment were petty men dragged along by personal resentment.
The process of investigation by the National Assembly, which should have carefully pursued the charges, was almost omitted.
The judges did what they must never have done, even if a sword had been placed at their necks.
They conducted the trial politically.
On the day the impeachment judgment was handed down, half the people raised celebratory cups, while the other half shed tears of grief.
The hearts of the people were torn to shreds.
This foresees an enormous conflict, and a catastrophe caused by it, that will likely continue for many years to come.
What about society?
As introduced in the prologue, this country is a world of lies.
The crimes of perjury and false accusation are several hundred times more frequent than in Japan.
Various forms of insurance fraud are rampant at a rate one hundred times greater than in the United States.
One-third of government subsidies are fraudulently intercepted.
The number of civil lawsuits per capita is the highest in the world.
It is said that lies are ingrained in the very breath of Koreans.
Most Koreans immediately agree with such a claim.
That is because they live every day in the pain caused by it.
A corrupted spiritual culture that is tolerant of lying drags this country’s politics and economy into the abyss of confusion and stagnation.
That is because there are no fair rules or great promises in the game.
The year 2019 is a time of melancholy days for everyone.
To be continued.