SOUTH KOREA – Former president of South Korea Moon Jae-in has been indicted for bribery charges by the South Korean prosecutors for facilitating the employment of his then son-in-law at a low-budget airline.
Prosecutors say 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.
His daughter and her husband divorced in 2021.
Lee Sang-jik was indicted for bribery and breach of trust.
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.
Moon’s indictment comes before South Korea elects a new president on June 3 to succeed conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol.