On the 24th, the prosecution indicted former President Moon Jae-in on charges of bribery without detention. The allegation is that during his presidency, Seo, the husband of his daughter, received 217.87 million won in bribes to facilitate preferential hiring at Thai AirAsia, which is substantially owned by former Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-ik. Former lawmaker Lee was also indicted without detention on bribery charges.
On this day, the Jeonju District Prosecutor's Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Young-jin) stated that Moon was indicted on charges of violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc., for Specific Crimes (bribery) without detention. Former lawmaker Lee was indicted without detention on charges of bribery and breach of trust in connection with his duties. The trial for this case is expected to take place at the Seoul Central District Court.
However, both Moon's daughter, Da-hye, and her ex-husband, Seo, received non-prosecution dispositions. The prosecution noted that "Da-hye and Seo were accomplices to former President Moon's crimes as a public official," while also considering that "the purpose of the bribery offense is to protect the 'non-purchasability' that money cannot buy public officials' official acts, and by indicting former President Moon and former lawmaker Lee, we can achieve the objective of exercising state punishment."
◇ Seo, former son-in-law of Moon, has no airline experience... hired at double the salary of the representative and received 200 million won over a year and a half
According to the prosecution, Seo was hired as a senior executive of Thai AirAsia in 2018 without any prior experience in the airline industry. It was revealed that Thai AirAsia paid him a total of 217.87 million won for salary and housing expenses from August 2018 to April 2020.
The prosecution stated that Thai AirAsia had no need for hiring executives at the time of Seo's employment, as delays in obtaining an Air Operator's License (AOL) and Air Carrier Certificate (AOC) for flight operations resulted in no revenue at all, yet he was preferentially hired under the direction of former lawmaker Lee.
Additionally, since Seo had no experience in the airline industry, it was determined that he only performed simple assistant tasks such as sending and receiving emails, and he did not conduct any tasks suitable for a senior executive position, such as returning to Korea from Thailand or not showing up for work under the guise of remote work.
◇ Lee Sang-ik expected preferential treatment for nominations and corporations while supporting Da-hye and her husband
The prosecution concluded that former lawmaker Lee, who substantially owned Thai AirAsia, supported the couple of former President Moon's children, hoping to receive preferential treatment for parliamentary nominations and benefits for the corporations he operated.
Former lawmaker Lee was eliminated in the preliminary elections for Jeonju Eul in the 20th National Assembly elections in 2016. He later worked in Moon's presidential campaign and was appointed as the chairman of the Small and Medium Venture Business Corporation in December 2017.
After visiting the Blue House in April 2018, he mobilized employees of Easter Air and the corporation to gather information about the residence in Thailand where Da-hye's family would live, as well as details about the international school that Da-hye's son would attend, and relayed this information to then Chief Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Won-woo and others.
Former lawmaker Lee is said to have directed the hiring of Seo at Thai AirAsia under the conditions of 'monthly salary of 8 million won, senior executive position, and provision of housing costs.' The monthly salary of 8 million won was twice the amount of the president of Thai AirAsia. The residence had a monthly rent exceeding 3.5 million won.
In January 2020, while serving as the chairman of the corporation, former lawmaker Lee applied for resignation to run in the 21st National Assembly election. After processing his resignation, he was nominated and elected for the Jeonju Eul constituency. The prosecution found that former President Moon rapidly processed the resignation of former lawmaker Lee, who was under police investigation for violating the Public Official Election Act, in order to assist him in running for the National Assembly.
The prosecution also revealed that Easter Air, which was effectively managed by former lawmaker Lee, received preferential treatment during the Moon Jae-in administration, being selected as a charter airline for North Korea flights. Easter Air was designated as the charter airline for the Pyeongyang art troupe in March 2018.
◇ Da-hye and her husband actively accepted support from former lawmaker Lee... Moon accepted support for his children
The prosecution stated that Da-hye and her husband actively accepted the preferential support from former lawmaker Lee. According to the prosecution, Da-hye checked the location of the international school in Thailand in advance before her husband was hired by Thai AirAsia. She also met with a real estate agent introduced by former lawmaker Lee to decide on a mansion that met her desired conditions, such as whether it would be suitable to raise her pet dog.
Her ex-husband Seo also reportedly contacted the local operator of Thai AirAsia, who was unaware of his hiring, asking whether they had heard anything from former lawmaker Lee regarding his employment. Seo attended a dinner with executives from Easter Air and Thai AirAsia, hosted by former lawmaker Lee, before officially starting work.
According to the prosecution, former President Moon provided various supports, such as covering housing costs and helping Seo obtain a job at a game company in 2016, when Da-hye and her husband were unemployed and living without significant income, even before he was elected as president.
However, in 2018, when Seo's hiring at a game company named after former President Moon's dog (Tory Games) became public, he had to quit the job. As a result, the situation arose again in which former President Moon had to support Da-hye and her husband, leading the prosecution to conclude they accepted former lawmaker Lee's assistance.