Freeing Samsung's billionaire leader bodes ill for South Korea

Seoul is stuck in a cycle where it serves tycoons more than ordinary people

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20210811 Lee Jae-yong Seoul High Court.jpg

Lee Jae-yong arrives at the Seoul High Court to attend a sentencing hearing on Jan. 18: South Koreans have seen this movie before. © Sipa/AP

William Pesek is an award-winning Tokyo-based journalist and author of "Japanization: What the World Can Learn from Japan's Lost Decades."

Lee Jae-yong does not, as far as I know, wear a cape. Nor does he have superpowers or futuristic gadgets. Yet to hear Seoul officials tell it, the Samsung heir is some amalgam of Tony Stark, Thor, Doctor Strange... choose your favorite Marvel-ous hero.

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