When power goes to the people who impoverish state...

The appointment of people with criminal charges, including murder and money laundering, to the Cabinet and other high-ranking positions in government once again raises a fundamental question this column has debated over the years: What is the purpose of power? This leads to a related question: How have leaders in countries that have made spectacular development used power?

For instance, the South Korean leadership, credited with turning a fishing village into a major economic power and technological giant in one generation, developed the “developmental state”. This model had different aspects to it. First, the regime had zero tolerance for corruption. In states associated with this development model, corruption was viewed as economic sabotage. Those found culpable of the vice would receive unforgiving sentences, including the death penalty.