Police Raid Seongnam City Hall to Look for Evidence Against Former ROK Presidential Candidate

Totally not like a banana republic… Totally not… The South Korean economy is not primarily foreign-owned fruit companies…

It sounds more like the next iteration of a Korean-flavored “Star Chamber”, where the “king’s will” is judicially dispensed on rivals.

It seems to be a popular hobby among the Korean elites. Not many former Presidents have escaped unscathed.

In 1487, a Star Chamber Act was enacted [in England] setting up a special tribunal to deal with subversive activities within the King’s household. In theory the Star Chamber could only take cognizance of a matter if there was a good reason to interfere with the ordinary processes of law. In practice it meant that it heard cases and imposed punishments in matters where no actual crime had been committed but, in the subjective opinion of the court, were considered morally reprehensible. The sort of matters coming before it would now constitute offenses such as conspiracy, libel, forgery, perjury, riot, conspiracy, and sedition. Henry VII and Henry VIII, in particular, used the power of the Star Chamber to break the powerful nobles who opposed their reigns. Prosecutions were brought by the Attorney General and prisoners tried summarily by affidavit and interrogation (which very often included torture). Punishments included fines, imprisonment, pillory, branding or loss of an ear. It did not have the power to order a death sentence.