@siscon
Social standing, public image and "honor" (even if all of these are by association to the person in question) mean more there so it makes the exploitation of a vulnerable person who erred a more plausible occurrence and thus a common trope in order to show that one character has an edge over the other.
If you thought such things in the West were bad (eg: comply / don't report this or I'll cancel you and kill your career), it's even worse in Asian countries.