On April 6, the court found the former president of South Korea guilty of power abuse. Park Geun-hye’s honorable start as Korea’s first female leader befell a dishonorable end as also the first in history to be dethroned. She had failed hard enough to project a dim prospect for ‘motherly leadership’ on the Korean peninsula.

In the meantime, the controversy over sexual impropriety has engulfed many high-profile figures, including many renowned professors in colleges. Initially, the public’s outrage originated from the crimes caused by power-imbalanced relationships. However, they let other confessions of discomfiting sexual comments fuel their fury, derailing the point of the discussion.

Both of the cases above share a commonality; they have been singled out as criminals and thus single-handedly suffer the subsequent sabotage. The public commented that they are self-centered cowards for not attending the sentencing and for committing suicide without a proper apology. Nevertheless, no one is capable of confrontation in the face of public humiliation.

It stems from the irony that social position corresponds with power but not with morality and integrity. There is a fault in our stars, whether they be the head of a nation, or a major that we looked upon with all due respect and admiration. The fault can be derived regardless of how they appear to be or how they are supposed to be. Thus, the assessment should be based on the factual faults, not on personal expectations and moral codes.

Lee Sei-yon
Editor-in-Chief