Latest news with #ex-SouthKorean
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.
RTHK
24-04-2025
- Politics
- RTHK
Corruption hit for ex-South Korean president Moon
Corruption hit for ex-South Korean president Moon Moon Jae-in with his wife Kim Jung-sook during a visit to Yangon in 2019. File photo: AFP South Korea's prosecutors said on Thursday they have indicted former president Moon Jae-in on corruption charges related to the employment of his son-in-law at an airline. Moon was "indicted for corruption for receiving 217 million won in connection with facilitating the employment of his son-in-law at an airline", the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office said. The case adds to the political drama gripping South Korea, which is facing elections on June 3 after Yoon Suk Yeol was stripped of his presidency for imposing martial law briefly. Moon, who served as president from 2017 to 2022, was known for pursuing engagement with North Korea, including brokering talks between Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump during his first term. According to prosecutors, Moon's son-in-law was appointed managing director by low-cost airline Thai Eastar Jet, "despite lacking any relevant experience or qualifications in the airline industry". The son-in-law "frequently left his post for extended periods... and did not perform his duties in a manner befitting the position", they said. The airline, which was effectively controlled by a former MP from Moon's party, had given Moon's son-in-law the job in a bid to win favours from the then president, prosecutors said. According to prosecutors, any salary and other financial benefits paid by the airline to the son-in-law between 2018 and 2020 "were confirmed as not legitimate salary payments, but bribes intended for the president". The son-in-law later divorced Moon's daughter. South Korea's politics are often marked by score-settling. The only two other living former presidents – Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye – were convicted of corruption and served prison terms. Former president Roh Moo-hyun, for whom Moon served as chief of staff, died by suicide in May 2009 by jumping off a cliff amid a corruption investigation involving his family. Moon's party condemned the prosecution on Thursday, calling the indictment "an abuse of unchecked prosecutorial power". The corruption charge was "nothing more than a politically motivated move aimed at humiliating a former president," Park Kyung-mee, spokeswoman of Democratic Party, said. "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?" she added. (AFP)
