South Korea: Ex-President Moon indicted over bribery

Jeonju (South Korea), April 24 (IANS) Prosecutors in South Korea said on Thursday that they have indicted former President Moon Jae-in over charges of bribery in connection with allegations of facilitating the employment of his former son-in-law at an airline.

Moon, who served as President from 2017 to 2022, was indicted for corruption, while former lawmaker Lee Sang-jik, who established the budget carrier Thai Eastar Jet, was indicted for bribery and breach of trust.

Moon and his daughter, Da-hye, were accused of allegedly receiving bribes in the form of salary and other payments for Da-hye's ex-husband, surnamed Seo, by the airline.

Seo was appointed executive director at the airline in 2018 after Lee, who founded the airline, was appointed head of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.

Prosecutors suspect that Lee's appointment was made in exchange for hiring Seo at the airline, particularly given Seo's lack of experience in the airline industry at the time.

Moon is alleged to have stopped providing financial support to his daughter's family after Seo's employment, and prosecutors consider the approximately 217 million won ($151,125) in salary and other compensation paid by the airline to Seo and Da-hye as a bribe to the former president.

The indictment against Moon comes as the nation is gearing up for the June 3 presidential election after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was ousted early this month over his failed martial law bid, Yonhap news agency reported.

There was no immediate response to the indictment from Moon, but the Democratic Party (DP) strongly criticised the prosecution. Moon was the DP candidate in the 2017 presidential election.

DP spokesperson Park Kyung-mee lashed out at the indictment as "political" to undermine both Moon and the DP.

Former DP leader Lee Jae-myung also issued a statement condemning the indictment as "a politically motivated act of persecution by the prosecution against the previous administration."

--IANS

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