[CARD NEWS] The German president who quits over his friend’s offer of a hotel room
1. “Germany needed a president that enjoys the trust of not only a majority, but a broad majority of citizens.”
- Christian Wulff, former president of Germany
In February of 2012, the German president resigned.
2. The reason for his stepping down may seem minor to us.
3. The political scandal began when suspicions rose that Wulff’s friend had offered him a $900 hotel room during his trip to Octoberfest in Munich.
4. Other suspicions followed: that he had received $50 toy car for his son’s from a car dealer,
5. he got a 0.5% discount when he leased a car for his wife,
6. and he borrowed money at 1% lower than standard interest from his conglomerate friend to buy a house.
7. $900, $50, 0.5%, 1% …
Those figures seem ridiculously small compared to the scale of corruption committed by Korean politicians.
8. “I don’t want to live in the country where I cannot even borrow money from a friend.”
While this statement is far from equivalent to the thoughtless remarks spoken by Korean politicians, it enraged Germans.
9. “Deviousness of a person who represents Germany results in overall distrust of Germans.”
“It is shameful to have such person like him as president.”
Eventually, 85 percent of German citizens called for his resignation.
10. Compelled by public demand, German prosecution conducted an unprecedented investigation into the president. At the end, Wulff could not do anything but step down.
11. Two years since his resignation, he was cleared of allegations of securing bribes and abusing his power.
12. You may now think he underwent ruthless punishment for accepting minor favors.
13. However, this ruthlessness is what has maintained Germany’s long-standing democracy.
14. It is time to look back on whether we have been excessively generous to our officials.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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