South Korea: Ex-President Moon calls bribery indictment 'unjust'

Seoul, April 25 (IANS) Former South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday criticised the prosecution for indicting him on bribery charges, saying that the indictment was "unjust" and demonstrated the prosecution's abuse of power.

Moon, who served as President from 2017 to 2022, made the remarks at a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik, a day after prosecutors indicted him over alleged bribery related to allegations that he facilitated the employment of his former son-in-law at a Thai airline.

"The indictment itself is unjust, and it felt like (prosecutors) were driving (the case) to something of a predetermined course," Moon said.

Moon said the indictment came abruptly while he was in the process of coordinating with prosecutors to verify the relevant facts.

"Prosecutors have become politicised," Moon said.

"It seems like a clear example of how prosecutorial power is being abused."

Moon and his daughter, Da-hye, were accused of allegedly receiving bribes in the form of salary and other payments for Da-hye's ex-husband, surnamed Seo, by the airline.

Seo was appointed executive director at the airline in 2018 after Lee Sang-jik, who founded the airline, was appointed head of the Korea SMEs and Startups Agency.

Prosecutors suspect that Lee's appointment was made in exchange for hiring Seo at the airline, particularly given Seo's lack of experience in the airline industry at the time.

Moon is alleged to have stopped providing financial support to his daughter's family after Seo's employment, and prosecutors consider the approximately 217 million won ($151,125) in salary and other compensation paid by the airline to Seo and Da-hye as a bribe to the former President.

After meeting with Woo, Moon attended a ceremony commemorating the seventh anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, a landmark agreement signed in April 2018 by Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the truce village of Panmunjom.

The declaration aimed to improve inter-Korean relations and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, but much of the initiatives stalled under his conservative successor, former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Yonhap news agency reported.

Moon denounced Yoon's hardline policy on North Korea, including scrapping the 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction accord, underscoring the importance of resuming talks with Pyongyang.

"Resuming talks between the two Koreas is the most important. To avoid the risks of a military clash, the (inter-Korean) military agreement must first be restored," Moon said.

Moon called the idea of South Korea pursuing nuclear armament a "dangerous" proposition, warning that such a move could give immunity to North Korea's nuclear development, abandon denuclearisation efforts and isolate South Korea from the international community.

--IANS

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