Financial sector bounces back
Korea moves between extremes. Only 18 months ago Lim Chang-yuel was finance minister of a country on the verge of collapse. Lim steered Korea through its liquidity crisis and was instrumental in launching the republic's $4 billion bond issue. His tireless efforts to save Korea from bankruptcy won him the respect of the international community.
Lim became a national hero and went on to use his popularity to become elected as governor of Kyonggi province. Then last month, in a dramatic reversal of fortune, Lim and his wife Joo Hye-ran were arrested for allegedly taking a W500 million ($416,000) bribe. It was said that the former finance minister had been given the money by Suh E-suk, the former president of Kyungki Bank, who reportedly was trying to prevent the forced closure of his bank. Suh was charged with taking W368 million in return for extending illegal...
