Moon becomes sixth former Korean president to be indicted

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Moon becomes sixth former Korean president to be indicted

Published: 25 Apr. 2025, 09:41 Updated: 25 Apr. 2025, 13:40

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Former President Moon Jae-in attends an event on North Korean issues at the Suwon Convention Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi on Oct. 4, 2024. [NEWS1]

Former President Moon Jae-in became the sixth former Korean president to be indicted, after the prosecution laid charges on Thursday.

Moon’s indictment, which came nearly two years and 11 months after he left office in May 2022, follows that of five former presidents, Chun Doo Hwan, Roh Tae-woo, Lee Myung-bak, Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk Yeol. It also marks the fourth consecutive time a former president has faced criminal charges after leaving office, beginning with Lee Myung-bak.

The Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office indicted Moon on Thursday without detention on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The charge concerns his former son-in-law, surnamed Seo, who allegedly received approximately 217 million won ($151,630) between August 2018 and April 2020 in the form of salary and housing support while employed at Thai low-cost carrier Thai Eastar Jet, despite having no experience in the airline industry.

Thai Eastar Jet is controlled by former lawmaker Lee Sang-ji, who has been indicted without detention on charges of offering a bribe and breach of trust.

Moon Jae-in’s daughter, Moon Da-hye, and his former son-in-law, Seo, who were investigated as co-conspirators in the bribery case, were not indicted and instead received suspended indictments. Given the seriousness of the case, prosecutors transferred the indictment to the Seoul Central District Court.

“The core of this case is that the former president exercised his comprehensive authority and received special benefits for the overseas emigration of his children and spouses through an airline controlled by Lee, a politician and businessman,” a prosecution official said.

Investigators found that Moon, while his daughter and her husband were unemployed with no notable income, had supported their living expenses and helped Seo land a job at a gaming company in February 2016. In early 2018, however, Seo resigned from the gaming company — named after Moon’s pet dog — amid public criticism.

Moon Da-hye, daughter of former President Moon Jae-in, arrives at the Seoul Western District Court in Mapo District, western Seoul, on April 17. [YONHAP]

Prosecutors allege that Lee ordered Thai Eastar Jet’s CEO to hire Seo with an executive title, a salary of 8 million won per month — more than double that of the CEO — and housing support. Some of Seo’s salary was reportedly used by Moon Da-hye to purchase a multi-family home in Seoul, which she later leased out for profit.

The indictment states that Moon Jae-in was involved in his son-in-law’s hiring and relocation process to Thailand through the Blue House special inspection bureau.

Prosecutors determined that Moon Da-hye and Seo were not passive recipients of bribes, but actively participated in determining the content and scale of the economic benefits Moon was to receive.

In April and May 2018, the couple met with officials including the Civil Affairs Secretary at cafes and restaurants, and reportedly received local information on Thailand obtained via Lee.

Despite having no prior ties to Thailand, they decided to relocate there. The Office of the Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs also helped Lee prepare his application documents when he was being vetted for appointment as head of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency (Kosmes), by providing documents used by his predecessor.

Lawmakers of the Democratic Party's committee for countermeasures against political suppression hold a press conference denouncing the investigations on former President Moon Jae-in's family in front of the Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office in Jeonju, North Jeolla on April 1. [KIM JUN-HEE]

News of Moon’s indictment shocked the Democratic Party (DP), with the party’s senior spokesperson Jo Seung-lae saying that “this absurd case only underscores the urgent need for prosecutorial reform.”

“The prosecution has turned into political fiction writers,” DP presidential primary candidate Lee Jae-myung said.

“The Jeonju District Prosecutors’ sudden indictment is an illegal abuse of prosecutorial power by a political prosecution,” Moon Jae-in’s attorneys also said.

In a press release issued the same day, prosecutors cited precedents from the bribery cases of former presidents Park and Lee Myung-bak, stating, “given the broad scope of the president’s powers, a general quid pro quo relationship can be acknowledged even if the bribe provider did not request a specific favor.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM JUN-HEE,KIM NA-HAN,CHOI SEO-IN [[email protected]]