When the Hanbo Steel Company of South Korea went bankrupt in early 1997, an inquest discovered that at least two billion dollars had evaporated from its accounts, most likely ending up in the pockets of political or business elites. Upon his arrest for bribery, Hanbo's chairman, Chung Taesoo, privately let it be known that if the government pressed its case against him too vigorously he would unleash an “atomic bomb” (poktan) and implicate bankers and politicians who had been involved with Hanbo over the years. Chung was convicted, although the case was not pursued with particular vigor. While numerous observers professed to be shocked – Shocked! – at the revelations, in reality such scandals are a recurrent theme in Korean political history, and the exchange of money for political influence has been not just an open secret, it has been common knowledge. Since independence in 1948, Korea has seen a seemingly endless flow of corruption scandals bring down scores of elites.