Latest news with #SMEsandStartupsAgency
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.
CNA
25-04-2025
- Politics
- CNA
South Korea's former President Moon says bribery indictment is 'political'
Prosecutors had been investigating whether former lawmaker 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. Lee was indicted for bribery and breach of trust in the case, according to the statement. In a statement, Moon's lawyers denied the accusations and said what his ex-son-in-law received were salaries for his work. They also accused prosecutors of politically targeting Moon ahead of a snap presidential election officially set for Jun 3 following the impeachment and removal from office of president Yoon Suk Yeol over his short-lived martial law declaration. Lee Jae-myung, the ex-leader of the liberal Democratic Party (DP), is leading opinion polls with a double-digit gap with candidates from the conservative People Power Party (PPP). Moon is from the DP, while Yoon is from the PPP. Prosecutors referenced previous bribery cases involving former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, both of whom were convicted and jailed, as precedents for Moon's indictment.
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.
Daily Maverick
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Maverick
South Korea prosecutors indict ex-president Moon Jae-in for bribery
South Korean prosecutors have indicted former president Moon Jae-in for alleged bribery, a prosecution office spokesperson said on Thursday, in a case related to the appointment of his former son-in-law at a Thai airline. Moon was indicted for bribery, while former lawmaker Lee Sang-jik was indicted for bribery and breach of trust, Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said in a statement. Prosecutors had been investigating whether Lee's appointment as the head of an SMEs and Startups Agency was in exchange for Moon's former son-in-law getting a job and receiving a salary at the Thai-based corporation that Lee controlled in 2018-2020, the statement said. The prosecution alleged that the salary Moon's son-in-law received as an executive director was irregular and constituted a bribe to the then-president. Moon, Lee and their legal representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Al Jazeera
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
South Korea's ex-President Moon Jae-in indicted for bribery
South Korea's former President Moon Jae-in has been indicted on bribery charges, prosecutors have said. Moon, who led South Korea from 2017 to 2022 under the banner of the centre-left Democratic Party, is alleged to have appointed a former lawmaker to a government-funded nonprofit agency in exchange for his then son-in-law being employed at a Thailand-based airline, Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said in a statement on Thursday. Prosecutors allege that Moon appointed Lee Sang-jik to lead the SMEs and Startups Agency in return for his ex-son-in-law, surnamed Seo, being appointed executive director at Thai Eastar Jet, which was controlled by Lee at the time. They allege that some 223 million won ($151,959) in salary and other benefits provided to Seo constituted a bribe to Moon. The Democratic Party condemned the indictment as politically motivated and an abuse of prosecutorial power. 'So the salary paid to the son-in-law was a bribe to the president? Is this the best logic they could come up with after dragging the case out for four long years?' spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee said in a statement. Moon's indictment adds him to a long list of former South Korean presidents who have found themselves in trouble with the law. Moon's successor, impeached ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol, is currently on trial on insurrection charges over his short-lived declaration of martial law last year. Four other ex-South Korean leaders, including Moon's immediate predecessors Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, have been given prison terms. Moon's political mentor, former President Roh Moo-hyun, took his own life in 2009 while under investigation for bribery. While in office, Moon, a former human rights lawyer, pushed to expand social welfare and championed rapprochement with North Korea. South Korea is set to hold a presidential election on June 3 to replace Yoon, whose impeachment was upheld by the Constitutional Court of Korea earlier this month.
