South Korea's former President Moon indicted for alleged bribery
[April 24, 2025]
By HYUNG-JIN KIM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean prosecutors indicted former
liberal President Moon Jae-in on bribery charges 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 2017-2022,
received bribes totaling 217 million won ($151,705) 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 2018-2020.
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 favors 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. A former Moon aide on personnel affairs was earlier
indicted over Lee's agency job appointment, but prosecutors said she
refused to testify during questioning so they were unable to find any
direct evidence that Moon helped Lee win that position.
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
connection with his martial law decree.
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 is heavily favored 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.
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Then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during a meeting of
the National Security Council at the presidential Blue House in
Seoul, South Korea, on Feb. 22, 2022. (Ahn Jung-hwan/Yonhap via AP,
File)
There was no immediate response from Moon. But his 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. A Democratic Party committee
separately warned it would hold the prosecution service to account
for its indictment.
Most past South Korean presidents have been embroiled in scandal in
the final months of their terms or after leaving office. In 2017,
Park Geun-hye, South Korea's first female president, was removed
from office and arrested over an explosive corruption scandal.
Park's conservative predecessor Lee Myung-bak was also arrested on a
range of crimes, years after leaving office. Moon's friend and
former liberal President Roh Moo-hyun jumped to his death in 2009
amid corruption investigations into his family.
Moon is best known 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.
Moons’ supporters credit him with achieving now-stalled cooperation
with North Korea and avoiding major armed clashes, but opponents say
he was a naive North Korea sympathizer who ended up helping the
North buy time to advance its nuclear program in the face of
international sanctions and pressure.
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