If he's pardoned and released, sure, it's a mockery, but holding public officials accountable for their abuse of the public trust is necessary to the rule of law and democracy.
Yeah, but this story is not very indicative of that actually happening in the context of modern Korean history... they have arrested 4 prior presidents, and they've pardoned all of them. It's a pattern at this point.
Israel sent a former prime minister to prison. Ukraine has had many an anti-corruption sweep ever since the Russians invaded. France denied le Pen electability due to misappropriating EU funds.
I'm fairly certain that in the cases you mentioned, the people doing the jailing / penalizing are also guilty of crimes and at the very least, violating public trust. Seems to me like more tit for tat politicking.
Agreed! In my experience, politicians are rarely prosecuted for the crimes they commit unless there is some benefit for the political opposition. Even then, they're usually let off the hook eventually. In reality, most politicians are on the same team, serving the same goals. Any semblance of opposition is kayfabe meant to convince the populace they have a choice, when in reality they do not.