In brief
South Korea's ex-president Moon Jae-in has been indicted on bribery charges related to his former son-in-law's employment at a now-defunct airline, intensifying political divides in the country.
Former President Moon Jae-in of South Korea faced indictment on Thursday due to allegations of bribery, marking him as the latest in a series of former leaders in the country experiencing criminal prosecutions. The charge arises from accusations related to the employment of his former son-in-law at a small budget airline that operated in Thailand, prosecutors revealed.The financial dealings were scrutinized after it was reported that the former son-in-law, married to Moon's daughter Da-hye at the time, received a total of 217 million won (approximately $150,000) in salary and living benefits between 2018 and 2020. Jeonju prosecutors claim that the funds were effectively a bribe from Lee Sang-jik, a businessman who held the reins of the airline.During Moon's presidency, Lee served as the head of a governmental agency responsible for promoting small businesses and successfully won election as a lawmaker from Moon’s Democratic Party in 2020. However, he later lost his parliamentary position after being convicted of embezzlement and violating election laws. Prosecutors allege that Moon facilitated his son-in-law's job placement and relocation using presidential staff resources.Moon Jae-in's indictment further complicates South Korea’s political landscape, where recent years have seen a troubling trend of legal challenges against former presidents, heightening public divisiveness and concerns over governance.
