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South Korea

Gift Or Bribe? New South Korean Graft Law Treads On Tradition

Jewelry district in Seoul
Jewelry district in Seoul
Jason Strother

SEOUL — Stella came to South Korea on a government scholarship to do a PhD. She says when she arrived from Europe, she found that the degree came with some "unofficial" costs. "I heard that there should be some kind of payment every time that my committee of professors would meet to discuss my thesis."

Stella did not want to reveal her real name since she works for that same university now. She says she confronted her professors about these payments, but it didn't go well. "I was explicitly told by one of the members of my committee that I should pay this money," she said. "This was Korean custom and I should take this as normal."

So every time she met her advisors, she handed over envelopes, stuffed with cash. Stella says this custom cost her about $900 over a six month period. Her professors graciously accepted her "gifts' and she got her degree.

South Korea has a tradition of gift-giving that some people take advantage of, notes Joongi Kim, a law professor at Seoul's Yonsei University. "The key issue is when there's an authority relationship," he notes. There are some hopeful signs that the practice of small and large bribes is declining since a sweeping anti-graft law after a probe of the 2014 sinking of the Sewol ferry, which killed around 300 passengers. Investigators blamed corruption for allowing the ship to sail despite inadequate safety.

The sunken ferry in 2014 — Photo: South Korean Coast Guard

The anti-graft law is meant to keep educators, journalists and public officials on the straight and narrow. It places restrictions on the monetary value of presents that they can give and receive — violations are a criminal offense.

Since it came into effect a year ago, government data shows that 188 violators have been penalized.

That might seem like a small number, but law professor Joongi Kim says the law has created an atmosphere where people with authority are now scared to ask for gifts. He adds, though, that in some cases the expansive law seems too strict. "If a elementary school student gives a flower to a teacher that they like, if the teacher accepts that flower it would be illegal under the law."

The law may actually even be hurting the florist business. Ms. Yang, who only wants to give her surname, runs a flower shop in downtown Seoul and says many of her customers were civil servants. Ever since the law took effect she says orders have plunged, especially for large bouquets that are given as gifts at weddings and funerals. "I'm desperate," she said. "I've been running my shop for 10 years and I'm seeing other florists that have been in this part of town for 20 or 30 years close because of the law. I know it's good for our society, but its killing small businesses. Giving gifts, like flowers, is just a way Koreans show how much they care."

Aside from flower shops, tokens of appreciation are picked up at supermarkets, too. Hwang Yeop, who heads the Hanwoo or Korean Beef Association, says the anti-graft law also hurts his industry. Assortments of Korean beef are traditionally given during the lunar new year and the Chuseok-thanksgiving holiday in the fall. "I support the law in principle," he said. "But there needs to be some exceptions made for gifts like these."

Prices for flowers and Korean beef were artificially high.

There's a roughly $50 limit on gifts you can give to civil servants, professors and reporters. There's also a cap on how much government officials can spend on wining and dining guests, Hwang says fewer people are ordering Korean beef at barbeque joints. The maximum is about $30 per meal.

The law has popular support, according to polls here. And its making South Korea less corrupt, says You Han-beom of Transparency International Korea.

He admits that it's negatively affecting some industries, but says the price for flower bouquets and gift packs of Korean beef were artificially high to begin with in part because government officials weren't using their own money to buy them.

"A lot of taxpayer money was spent on things like flowers and Korean beef. It was substantial, so it needed to be stopped," he stated. "Yes, this is going to cause some pain for small businesses at first, but in the long run they will find ways to meet normal consumer demand."

Still, You Han-beom says the anti-corruption law won't kill Korea's tradition of gift giving.

On my way out of his office, he hands me a small, wrapped box. I remind him that as a reporter in Korea, I can't legally accept presents over $50. He says it's just a tube of toothpaste, so I'll be alright.

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Green

Forest Networks? Revisiting The Science Of Trees And Funghi "Reaching Out"

A compelling story about how forest fungal networks communicate has garnered much public interest. Is any of it true?

Thomas Brail films the roots of a cut tree with his smartphone.

Arborist and conservationist Thomas Brail at a clearcutting near his hometown of Mazamet in the Tarn, France.

Melanie Jones, Jason Hoeksema, & Justine Karst

Over the past few years, a fascinating narrative about forests and fungi has captured the public imagination. It holds that the roots of neighboring trees can be connected by fungal filaments, forming massive underground networks that can span entire forests — a so-called wood-wide web. Through this web, the story goes, trees share carbon, water, and other nutrients, and even send chemical warnings of dangers such as insect attacks. The narrative — recounted in books, podcasts, TV series, documentaries, and news articles — has prompted some experts to rethink not only forest management but the relationships between self-interest and altruism in human society.

But is any of it true?

The three of us have studied forest fungi for our whole careers, and even we were surprised by some of the more extraordinary claims surfacing in the media about the wood-wide web. Thinking we had missed something, we thoroughly reviewed 26 field studies, including several of our own, that looked at the role fungal networks play in resource transfer in forests. What we found shows how easily confirmation bias, unchecked claims, and credulous news reporting can, over time, distort research findings beyond recognition. It should serve as a cautionary tale for scientists and journalists alike.

First, let’s be clear: Fungi do grow inside and on tree roots, forming a symbiosis called a mycorrhiza, or fungus-root. Mycorrhizae are essential for the normal growth of trees. Among other things, the fungi can take up from the soil, and transfer to the tree, nutrients that roots could not otherwise access. In return, fungi receive from the roots sugars they need to grow.

As fungal filaments spread out through forest soil, they will often, at least temporarily, physically connect the roots of two neighboring trees. The resulting system of interconnected tree roots is called a common mycorrhizal network, or CMN.

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