South Korean prosecutors on Thursday indicted former President Moon Jae-in on bribery charges, making him the latest former leader of the country to face legal problems in a case involving the appointment of his then-son-in-law to a Thai airline, UNN reports, citing Reuters.
Details
Moon, 72, was charged with bribery, while former legislator Lee Sang-jik was charged with bribery and abuse of trust, the Cheongju District Prosecutor's Office said in a statement.
Prosecutors investigated whether Lee's appointment as head of the Small and Medium Business Administration and Startups was in exchange for Moon's former son-in-law getting a job and salary plus living expenses at a Thai corporation controlled by Lee in 2018-2020, the statement said.
The indictment alleges that the money received by Moon's son-in-law as an executive director in the amount of 5.95 million baht ($177,506) was illegal and constituted a bribe to the then-president.
Prosecutors cited previous bribery cases involving former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, both of whom were convicted and imprisoned, as precedents for indicting Moon.
Addition
Moon, a liberal lawyer and civil rights activist, was president from 2017 to 2022.
South Korea is holding extraordinary elections for a new leader on June 3, and the liberal-leaning Lee Jae-myung from the same Democratic party as Moon is a favorite in public opinion polls to win the race.
Lee's headquarters called Moon's accusations political retaliation by the prosecution and repression against the previous administration.