South Korea’s ex-President Moon Jae-in indicted for bribery – INA NEWS

South Korea’s former President Moon Jae-in has been indicted on bribery costs, prosecutors have mentioned.

Moon, who led South Korea from 2017 to 2022 underneath the banner of the centre-left Democratic Occasion, is alleged to have appointed a former lawmaker to a government-funded nonprofit company in change for his then son-in-law being employed at a Thailand-based airline, Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Workplace mentioned in an announcement on Thursday.

Prosecutors allege that Moon appointed Lee Sang-jik to steer the SMEs and Startups Company in return for his ex-son-in-law, surnamed Website positioning, being appointed government director at Thai Eastar Jet, which was managed by Lee on the time.

They allege that some 223 million gained ($151,959) in wage and different advantages supplied to Website positioning constituted a bribe to Moon.

The Democratic Occasion condemned the indictment as politically motivated and an abuse of prosecutorial energy.

“So the wage paid to the son-in-law was a bribe to the president? Is that this the most effective logic they might provide you with after dragging the case out for 4 lengthy years?” spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee mentioned in an announcement.

Moon’s indictment provides him to an extended listing of former South Korean presidents who’ve discovered themselves in bother with the legislation.

Moon’s successor, impeached ex-president Yoon Suk-yeol, is presently on trial on rebellion costs over his short-lived declaration of martial legislation final yr.

4 different ex-South Korean leaders, together with Moon’s quick predecessors Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, have been given jail phrases.

Moon’s political mentor, former President Roh Moo-hyun, took his personal life in 2009 whereas underneath investigation for bribery.

Whereas in workplace, Moon, a former human rights lawyer, pushed to develop social welfare and championed rapprochement with North Korea.

South Korea is about to carry a presidential election on June 3 to interchange Yoon, whose impeachment was upheld by the Constitutional Courtroom of Korea earlier this month.