Latest news with #JeonjuDistrictProsecutors'Office
Canberra Times
25-04-2025
- Business
- Canberra Times
S.Korea ex-president slams 'political' bribery charge
Prosecutors had been investigating whether former MP Lee Sang-jik's appointment as the head of the SMEs and Startups Agency was in exchange for Moon's former son-in-law getting a job and receiving a salary plus living expenses at the Thai-based corporation that Lee controlled, Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said in a statement.
Express Tribune
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
South Korea's ex-president Moon Jae-in calls bribery indictment 'political'
Former South Korean president Moon Jae-in on Friday criticised his indictment on bribery charges, accusing prosecutors of political bias and abuse of authority. Moon was indicted Thursday over allegations tied to the employment of his former son-in-law at a Thai airline between 2018 and 2020. The case also involves former lawmaker Lee Sang-jik, who was accused of securing a government post in exchange for hiring Moon's relative. 'The indictment is not only unfair but reveals the predetermined direction of this investigation,' Moon said during a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik. 'Beyond proving my innocence, I intend to expose and raise awareness of the prosecution's politicisation," he said. The Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office stated that Lee was indicted for bribery and breach of trust. They allege that his appointment as head of the SMEs and Startups Agency was linked to the employment benefits granted to Moon's son-in-law at a Thai firm Lee controlled. Moon's legal team rejected the allegations, claiming the payments received were legitimate salaries for work performed. They also accused the prosecution of targeting Moon in advance of the upcoming snap presidential election on 3 June. The election was triggered by the impeachment and removal of president Yoon Suk Yeol following his controversial martial law declaration. Moon is affiliated with the liberal Democratic Party (DP), while Yoon is a member of the conservative People Power Party (PPP). DP figure Lee Jae-myung currently leads in opinion polls by a wide margin over PPP candidates. Prosecutors referenced past convictions of former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak as precedents for Moon's indictment. Both were found guilty of bribery and served prison sentences.
Korea Herald
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Ex-President Moon criticizes indictment against him as ‘unjust'
Former President Moon Jae-in on Friday called the indictment on bribery charges against him 'unjust,' while accusing the prosecutors of abuse of power and being 'political.' The remarks came during his meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik ahead of attending a celebratory event marking seven years of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, which was an outcome of the April 2018 inter-Korean summit between then-president Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. 'The indictment itself was unjust, but I felt that (the prosecutors) were pushing this into a direction (they had) already set,' Moon told Woo in a meeting held at the main building of the Assembly. 'This means that the prosecution has become that much political and is an example of abuse of prosecutorial power,' he added. Moon also revealed that the indictment came as a surprise for him, as there was an initial agreement with the prosecutors to allow the former president to review the facts tied to the bribery charges before they would make any further decisions. '(In the timeframe leading up to the indictment,) I was reviewing (related) records at the presidential archives to do some in-depth fact checking after having written my affidavit (to submit to the prosecution later),' he explained. 'The process had been agreed upon by the prosecution … But they have decided to abruptly indict me.' Moon asked Woo to focus on letting the public know about the 'abuse of prosecutorial power and politics.' Ahead of Moon's remarks, Woo said that the prosecutors' move to indict the former president was 'unconvincing' for him, as he believes that they ignored the appropriate procedures before charging Moon with bribery. 'It's unconvincing for me in terms of the (charges) and the timing of the indictment with the country suffering under various turmoil. I believe the Assembly should look into whether there are any flaws in the procedures (of the indictment),' Woo said. The Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said Thursday they indicted Moon without detention on charges of bribery concerning his former son-in-law's employment at a local airline. The former son-in-law, surnamed Seo, allegedly received some 217 million won ($151,000) between August 2018 and April 2020 in the form of salary and housing support from Thai low-cost carrier Thai Eastar Jet after being appointed as executive director. Seo had no experience in the airline industry and former lawmaker Lee Sang-jik, who is the airline's founder, was appointed as head of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency at the time. Moon was in office as president from 2017 to 2022.
Epoch Times
24-04-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
Former South Korean President Indicted for Bribery
Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in was indicted on bribery charges on Thursday. The move by prosecutors makes him the latest in a growing list of former leaders of the East Asian nation to find themselves in legal hot water. This case is linked to the appointment of his then son-in-law to a lucrative no-show job at a budget Thai airline during his term of office. The 72-year-old was indicted in the same case in which a former lawmaker named Lee Sang-jik was also charged with bribery and breach of trust, the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said in Prosecutors had been investigating whether Lee's appointment as the head of the SMEs and Startups Agency was in exchange for Moon's former son-in-law getting a job and receiving a salary plus living expenses at Thai Eastar Jet between 2018 and 2020, the statement outlined. The prosecution alleges that the money the former son-in-law received as an executive director, 5.95 million baht ($177,506), was irregular and constituted a bribe to Moon, who was then the president. Related Stories 4/20/2025 4/8/2025 Prosecutors said the son-in-law spent only brief periods of time at the company's office in Thailand and performed minor duties during a period he claimed to be working remotely from South Korea. The prosecutors' office said it had not found evidence that Moon directly performed political favors for Lee but said that Lee, who worked on Moon's campaign, likely expected his assistance to be repaid. Moon's daughter and her husband are now divorced, according to the Prosecutors cited previous bribery cases involving former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, both of whom were convicted and jailed, as legal precedent. Moon, Lee, and their legal representatives have yet to comment, but Moon's allies in the main liberal opposition Democratic Party criticized the indictment, calling it a politically motivated attempt by supporters of his successor, Yoon Suk Yeol, at the prosecution service to humiliate the former liberal leader ahead of the upcoming snap election. South Koreans are heading to the polls in June after Yoon was ousted over attempting to impose martial law in December. The former top prosecutor now stands accused of rebellion and insurrection, charges he denies. A Democratic Party committee separately warned it would hold the prosecution service to account for its indictment. The liberal-leaning Lee Jae-myung from Moon's Democratic Party is the current frontrunner in opinion polls, and his campaign called the indictment political retribution by the prosecution and a clampdown on the previous administration. Youn Kun-young, a lawmaker and a close aide to Moon, accused the prosecution in a Moon, a liberal lawyer and a civil rights activist, was president between 2017 and 2022. He is known for his push to reconcile with North Korea, meeting with Kim Jong Un three times, and facilitating the start of diplomacy between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in the White House. Moon's supporters credit him with achieving the now-stalled cooperation with North Korea and avoiding major armed clashes with the regime in Pyongyang. However, his opponents accused him of being a naive North Korean sympathizer who ended up helping Kim buy time to advance his nuclear program in the face of international sanctions. Over the past two decades, a string of South Korean leaders have faced trials or scandals for the most part toward the end of their terms or after leaving office. In 2017, Park Geun-hye, the country's first female president, was ousted and arrested over a corruption scandal. She was tried, convicted, and sentenced to 20 years in prison before she received a presidential pardon from Moon. Park's conservative predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, was also arrested on a range of crimes, years after leaving office, while Moon's friend and former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun jumped to his death in 2009 amid a corruption investigation.
CBC
24-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Moon Jae-in becomes 4th consecutive elected South Korean president to be indicted
Moon, 72, faces indictment related to no-show job for former son-in-law during 2017-2022 presidency South Korean prosecutors indicted former liberal president Moon Jae-in on bribery charges on Thursday, saying that a budget airline gave his son-in-law a lucrative no-show job during Moon's term in office. Moon's indictment adds him to a long list of South Korean leaders who have faced trials or scandals at the close of their terms or after leaving office. Prosecutors allege that Moon, who served as president from 2017 to 2022, received bribes totalling 217 million won ($209,600 Cdn) from Lee Sang-jik, founder of the budget carrier Thai Eastar Jet, in the form of wages, housing expenses and other financial assistance provided to Moon's then-son-in-law from 2018 to 2020. South Korean media reported that Moon's daughter and her husband were divorced in 2021. The Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said in a statement that Lee was also indicted on charges of paying bribes to Moon and committing breaches of trust. The prosecutors' office said Moon's former son-in-law was hired as a director-level employee at Lee's company in Thailand even though he had no work experience in the airline industry. The office said he spent only brief periods at the company's office in Thailand and carried out only minor duties while claiming to be working remotely from South Korea. The prosecutors' office said it had not found evidence that Moon directly performed political favours for Lee, but that Lee, who worked on Moon's campaign, likely expected his assistance to be repaid. Lee was later named the head of the state-funded Korea SME and Startups Agency and was nominated by Moon's party to run for parliament while Moon was in office. Moon, 72, is best known internationally for his push to reconcile with rival North Korea as he met North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un three times and facilitated the start of the high-stakes nuclear diplomacy between Kim and President Donald Trump. Frequent arrests, suicide blot recent politics Moon's indictment comes before South Korea elects a new president on June 3 to succeed conservative president Yoon Suk Yeol, who was ousted over an ill-fated imposition of martial law in December. Yoon, a former top prosecutor, now stands a criminal trial on rebellion charges in connection with his martial law decree. WATCH l What led to Yoon's martial law declaration: Media Video | About That with Andrew Chang : Martial law: How South Korean politics spun out of control | About That Caption: In the past 24 hours, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, only for his decision to be unanimously rejected by a parliamentary vote. Andrew Chang explains the turmoil that led to the president's declaration, and what it says about the state of South Korean politics. Images supplied by Reuters and Getty Images. Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage than loading CBC Lite story pages. It's unclear if Moon's indictment will influence prospects for liberals to win back the presidency. But observers say liberal presidential aspirant Lee Jae-myung — who survived a stabbing in early 2024 — is heavily favoured to win the vote, as conservatives remain in disarray over Yoon's ouster, although Lee also faces criminal trials on allegations of corruption and other charges. Moon's political allies at the main liberal opposition Democratic Party criticized the indictment, calling it a politically motivated attempt by Yoon supporters at the prosecution service to humiliate the former liberal leader ahead of the election. Youn Kun-young, a Democratic Party lawmaker who worked at Moon's presidential office, accused prosecutors of trying to divert attention from Yoon's "tragic end" by putting Moon on trial to influence the election outcome. Most past South Korean presidents have been embroiled in scandal in the final months of their terms or after leaving office. Lee Myung-bak, elected president in 2007, was sentenced to a 17-year prison term for a range of corruption crimes, but was pardoned by Yoon in late 2022. Lee was then part of Yoon's legal team during his recent impeachment hearings. In 2017, Park Geun-hye, South Korea's first female president, was removed from office and arrested over an explosive corruption scandal. She was pardoned during the Moon presidency. Moon's friend and former liberal president Roh Moo-hyun, who served from 2003 to 2008, jumped to his death a year after leaving office. In the weeks prior to that, Roh's brother and former secretary had been arrested as part of a corruption probe.
