South Korea's former President Moon indicted for alleged bribery

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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.

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.