A Get Out of Jail for $1 Billion Card

Imagine this scenario: Major auto executive gets arrested for setting up slush funds to cover political favors, admits guilt, gets a three-year jail sentence. Executive promises to make major charitable donations, judge asks people on the street if they think he should go to jail, court suspends sentence. Executive returns to run the auto company.

There are places in the world where this happens, and one of them is South Korea.

Convicted Hyundai Motor chairman Chung Mong Koo will return to work as long as he follows through on his promise to give about $1 billion toward charitable projects including a new opera house in Seoul and twelve cultural centers around the country. The court says his conviction still stands, but the jail sentence will be waived for five years, according to Bloomberg.

Hyundai, which is South Korea's biggest company, has struggled to keep up with other Asian automakers like Toyota and Honda. Earlier this week, it cut its 2007 sales targets for China and the U.S.

But instead of bidding good riddance to the embezzling chief executive, many investors were relieved that Chung would be able to stay at Hyundai's helm to help turn it around.

And Hyundai investors weren't the only ones cheering the news. Because Hyundai is such an integral part of South Korea's economy, the judge actually asked for the people's opinion on the matter.

"I did ask many people, including restaurant waiters, taxi drivers and reporters. The ordinary people leaned toward a suspended sentence," the judge said, according to Reuters. "That means the accused should work hard."

In America, powerful executives are also sometimes able to buy their way out of a jam, but it's usually done with a little more subtlety.

And reporters? We're still waiting for a federal judge to ask us what we think.

by Megan Barnett