유전무죄 무전유죄

Etymology
.

Although attested since at least 1955, it was popularized mainly by Ji Kang Hun. Ji was a thief sentenced to seventeen years for having stolen 5.56 million Won (equivalent to around 15,000 USD in 2021), who escaped prison in 1988 after hearing that the younger brother of president had been sentenced to a mere seven years despite having embezzled 7.6 billion Won. He took hostages in order to gain nationwide media coverage. In the ensuing hostage crisis, Ji said:



The saying is sometimes wrongly claimed to have been coined by Ji.

Noun

 * 1)  "the rich are innocent and the poor are guilty"; money buys off the law