Ex-President Moon Jae-in Faces Bribery Allegations, Stirring Outcry in South Korea

Former presidents in South Korea have repeatedly faced tragic ends, with cases of imprisonment or even being driven to suicide due to scandals during their time in office. Now, it has come to light that prosecutors are advancing an investigation that regards former President Moon Jae-in (71) as a suspect, causing a stir within the country.

The scenario involves a former lawmaker, appointed as a public corporation president under the Moon administration, allegedly hiring Moon’s then-son-in-law (later divorced) as an executive of their low-cost airline in return, with the salary paid being considered a bribe to Moon.

Moon’s daughter and his close aides have criticized the investigation and are preparing for a full-scale confrontation, intensifying the conflict with the administration of Yoon Suk-yeol, whose key positions are filled by former prosecutors. Meanwhile, some citizens are expressing fatigue, saying, “We’ve had enough of the sight of former presidents being imprisoned every time the administration changes.”

After retiring from office, he became a bookstore owner. Still popular with a constant stream of fans who visit.

Former President Moon Jae-in is remembered for taking a conciliatory approach that emphasized dialogue with North Korea, while adopting a tough stance toward Japan, which led to a severe deterioration in Japan-South Korea relations—a situation still fresh in memory.

After his retirement, he moved to Pyeongsan Village in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, and opened a bookstore near his home.

The author visited this bookstore in September of last year. At one point, conservative anti-Moon groups had gathered there, repeatedly attacking him with loudspeakers, but by the time of the visit, peace had returned. A store associate mentioned that “Moon would come in the evening,” and sure enough, he appeared with his security detail, smiling broadly.

Supporters who had come to visit formed a long line, and Moon happily posed for photos and shook hands. Even after stepping down in May 2022, he still has many fans. The author, also in line, told Moon, “I came from Japan,” but there was no particular reaction.

In May of this year, Moon published his memoir.

While he tends to praise himself when discussing North-South relations, the memoir also includes some surprisingly interesting anecdotes, such as when North Korea’s General Secretary Kim Jong-un (40) suggested during their meeting that they could become email friends by noting that he always carries a laptop to the field and can send and receive emails anytime.

Regarding the Abe administration at the time, with which he did not get along, Moon makes repeated references, harshly criticizing it for making claims close to interference in domestic affairs and for taking positions that threw cold water on dialogue related to North-South relations.

Now, to return to the current incident: According to reports from South Korean media, prosecutors believe that the appointment of Moon’s former son-in-law as executive director of the low-cost airline Thai Eastern Jet in 2018 was in exchange for the former lawmaker, who is considered the effective owner of the company, being able to assume the position of chairman of the Small and Medium Venture Business Promotion Corporation. Prosecutors assert that the salary received by the son-in-law between July 2018 and April 2020, along with relocation expenses to Thailand totaling 223 million won (about 24 million yen), constitutes a bribe to Moon. This arrangement meant that Moon no longer had to provide financial support to his daughter and son-in-law.

 

Key figures in the Moon administration were interviewed one after another, “Onion Man” was also interviewed.

The suspicions had surfaced during Moon’s presidency, initially pointed out by opposition lawmakers, followed by citizen groups that filed complaints leading to an investigation by prosecutors. Although there was no significant progress at first, after the change of administration, in September of last year, a prosecutor regarded as one of President Yoon Suk-yeol’s (63) closest aides, who had served as the Supreme Prosecutor’s spokesperson when Yoon was Attorney General, was appointed as the head of the district prosecutor’s office, accelerating the investigation. In August of this year, it was reported that when prosecutors conducted a search of Moon’s daughter’s home, they referred to Moon as a “suspect” in the bribery case in the search warrant.

Thus far, the prosecution has interrogated individuals who held key positions in the Moon administration, including former Justice Minister Cho Kuk (59), who has been mocked as “Onion Man,” and former Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok (58), as their involvement in various allegations, including the daughter’s fraudulent admission to school, has emerged. They have also examined the bank accounts of Moon and his daughter, gathering testimonies from others mentioned in the investigation. Some individuals have even been subjected to travel bans. The prosecutors appear to be investigating the circumstances surrounding the former lawmaker’s appointment as chairman of the public corporation. Based on the results of this investigation, there is a possibility that they will soon seek testimonies from Moon’s daughter, Da-he, as well as from Moon himself.

The investigation into allegations of misconduct during the Moon administration is not the first of its kind. In September 2020, regarding the incident where a South Korean public official was shot and burned by North Korean military forces in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, former National Security Office Director Suh Hoon (69) and former Defense Minister Suh Wook (61) were later arrested for attempting to conceal information detrimental to the improvement of inter-Korean relations.

Additionally, in November 2019, the Moon administration forcibly repatriated two North Korean fishermen who had been captured by the South Korean military near the inter-Korean maritime border, against their will to defect. In connection with this incident, former National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong (78) and former Chief of Staff Noh Young-min (66) were indicted while at home. In this case, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration publicly released photos of the fishermen resisting their repatriation, aiming to highlight the Moon administration’s cruelty.

In both cases, the investigative reach did not extend to Moon himself, but the current investigation involving his son-in-law directly connects to his family, making Moon a clear target as a suspect.

Yoon Geon-young (55), a close aide to Moon and a former senior official at the presidential office, recently criticized the prosecution sharply on a radio program, calling it suppression of the Moon administration and an insult to former President Moon and stated that the investigation continues until sins emerge like rain dances from Native Americans. He argued that this reflects a political intent to divert attention from the unpopularity of the Yoon administration, which is seeing a decline in approval ratings.

The ruling party associated with Moon, the progressive “Democratic Party of Korea,” has organized a “Committee for Countering Political Suppression by the Previous Administration” to resist the prosecution’s investigation. Committee officials have stated their determination to confront what they see as a prosecutorial dictatorship under the Yoon administration, echoing their past resolve to fight against military regimes for the sake of democracy.

Moon’s daughter, Da-he, is remembered for appearing on stage at a rally in Gwanghwamun Square in central Seoul on the voting day of the presidential election in May 2017, which was held after the impeachment and removal of President Park Geun-hye (72), where she hugged her father.

 

More than seven years have passed since then. On September 3, after the search of her home, Da-he posted a photo of herself with Moon on social media, expressing her anger by stating, “I will no longer endure this.” On the 12th, she shared her feelings, saying, “I am nothing more than a horse trampled and dirtied for the purpose of stabbing my father with a knife (to the prosecution).” This was a critique of the prosecution’s zealous investigation into her family.

During Moon’s presidency, it was reported by Katsuhiro Kuroda, a columnist for the Sankei Shimbun stationed in Seoul, that Da-he had studied abroad in Japan. At that time, conservative forces in South Korea mocked the situation, saying, “The daughter of President Moon, known as the ‘anti-Japan president,’ studied in Japan.” However, the presidential office at the time avoided confirming the matter in response to inquiries from South Korean media, saying, “We cannot verify.”

One of the focal points of the investigation is whether Moon and his daughter’s family constituted an economic community. Although the salary was received by the former son-in-law from the airline, the investigation is reportedly proceeding on charges of direct bribery against Moon, rather than third-party bribery.

The prosecution’s argument hinges on the idea that although Moon was originally providing financial support to his daughter and son-in-law, the salary allowed him to discontinue that support, thereby providing economic benefits to Moon. If this can be proven, it would substantiate the prosecution’s narrative.

However, reports suggest that the former son-in-law was financially independent, having worked for a gaming company before becoming an executive at the airline. In South Korea, there are also instances where high-profile individuals involved in cases receive not guilty verdicts. Whether Moon can actually be indicted as a suspect remains uncertain.

There are voices saying, “We’re an economic power, so it’s about time we moved on from this.”

The tragic fate of former presidents has been repeated in South Korea. Moon’s predecessor, Park Geun-hye, became the first president in history to be impeached for abusing her authority and was imprisoned for large-scale bribery before receiving a special pardon.

 

The president before her, Lee Myung-bak (82), also served time for bribery after leaving office and was granted a special pardon. Furthermore, the president before him, Roh Moo-hyun, faced an investigation into corruption allegations and committed suicide in 2009. Going further back, military-origin presidents Roh Tae-woo and Chun Doo-hwan were arrested and convicted on charges of bribery and instigating a coup, respectively, but were also given special pardons.

Now, as investigations into Moon are underway, there is a public sentiment that each new administration brings political retaliation against the former president, and it is seen as embarrassing for the world to report on this. A friend of mine, who is conservative and critical of Moon, expressed that “now that we have the economic power of the 10th largest country in the world, it would be better to stop repeating political dramas like those of developing countries for the sake of our national image.” 

I often hear from my Japanese friends the question, “Knowing the end will be tragic, why do they want to become president?” While it’s true that investigations are necessary if there are suspicions, many, including myself, feel exasperated when hearing about investigations into former presidents, thinking, “Not again…”