Former President Moon Jae-in of South Korea was indicted on a bribery cost on Thursday, turning into the newest ex-leader to face a felony trial in a rustic the place subjecting former leaders to felony investigations has turn into a recurring sample.
Mr. Moon, who left workplace after his five-year time period led to 2022, faces the corruption cost in reference to the employment of his former son-in-law at a now-defunct small funds airline in Thailand, prosecutors mentioned on Thursday.
The previous son-in-law, on the time married to Mr. Moon’s daughter, Da-hye, acquired 217 million gained, or round $150,000, in wage and housing allowances from the airline between 2018 and 2020, in response to the district prosecutor’s workplace in Jeonju, south of Seoul. (The couple later divorced.)
Of their indictment, Jeonju prosecutors mentioned they thought-about the cash a bribe paid to Mr. Moon by Lee Sang-jik, a South Korean businessman and former lawmaker who managed the airline. Mr. Lee made the son-in-law an govt there as a favor to Mr. Moon’s household though he was not certified for the job, they mentioned.
Beneath Mr. Moon, Mr. Lee served as the top of a authorities company accountable for selling small companies and was elected as a lawmaker affiliated with Mr. Moon’s Democratic Occasion in 2020. Mr. Lee misplaced his parliamentary seat after he was arrested and convicted on costs of embezzlement and election-law violations.
Mr. Moon used his presidential workers to assist prepare his son-in-law’s employment and his relocation from South Korea to Thailand, Jeonju prosecutors mentioned.
Mr. Lee, who was serving a jail time period stemming from his earlier corruption costs, was additionally indicted on a further bribery cost on Thursday.
The previous son-in-law and Mr. Moon’s daughter weren’t indicted.
No speedy response from Mr. Moon was out there on Thursday, in response to his workers. His former aides have rejected the accusations, calling them a smear marketing campaign towards the ex-president.
Mr. Moon’s indictment is a part of a well-known sample in South Korea, the place presidents or their relations have typically been ensnared by investigations earlier than or after they left workplace. That features 4 of the latest former presidents who ruled the nation over the previous 20 years. Roh Moo-hyun killed himself in 2009 whereas being investigated for attainable corruption. Two — Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye — ended up in jail for corruption. And Yoon Suk Yeol, who was faraway from presidency on April 4, is standing trial on the cost of committing rebellion when he despatched navy troops into the Nationwide Meeting throughout his short-lived imposition of martial legislation in December.
These felony investigations have contributed to the deepening political polarization in South Korea, as presidents from each the liberal and conservative camps have been focused and, in flip, have known as the prosecutions political revenge engineered by their enemies as soon as they took energy.
Beneath Mr. Yoon, a conservative, Mr. Moon and his former aides have confronted a sequence of felony investigations. In February, a court docket discovered 4 former nationwide safety aides to Mr. Moon responsible of abusing their official energy. However their jail phrases have been suspended because the court docket indicated that it thought-about the felony costs to be politically motivated by the Yoon administration.
Prosecutors launched an investigation into Mr. Moon’s son-in-law close to the tip of his time period. They mentioned that after they have tried to summon Mr. Moon in latest months, he refused to current himself for questioning or to reply questions they despatched him by mail.
Mr. Moon is finest recognized for his efforts to construct political reconciliation with North Korea. He met with North Korea’s chief, Kim Jong-un, and helped mediate the summit assembly between Mr. Kim and President Donald J. Trump in 2018. He was criticized for failing to curb hovering housing costs however was credited for his nation’s largely profitable battle towards the pandemic.
After leaving workplace, Mr. Moon moved to a brand new residence in-built Yangsan within the southeast of South Korea. He has posted a sequence of feedback on his Fb account criticizing Mr. Yoon and his insurance policies, particularly after the failed imposition of martial legislation.
