Prosecutors investigating the suspicion of preferential hiring of an airline executive by the son-in-law of former President Moon Jae-in, Seo Mo (44), have confirmed that they have designated former President Moon as a bribery suspect and are conducting an investigation. This is related to the appointment of Lee Sang-jik, a former lawmaker, as the chairman of the Small and Medium Venture Business Promotion Corporation by the Blue House during the Moon Jae-in administration, and Seo’s employment as an executive at Thai Eastar Jet, an airline owned by this lawmaker, which is believed to have been done in exchange for favors.
Recently, key figures from the previous Blue House who have been summoned as witnesses by the prosecution for questioning have strongly protested, calling it a politically motivated investigation for revenge against the former Blue House personnel during the Moon Jae-in administration.
According to the legal community on September 1st, the investigation unit of the Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office, led by Chief Prosecutor Han Yeon-kyu, conducted searches of former President Moon’s daughter Da-hye’s residence in Seoul and her villa in Jeju Island on August 30th. The search warrant presented by the prosecution listed former President Moon as a suspect in bribery and other crimes related to the suspected preferential hiring of Seo, who is the ex-husband of Da-hye and the son-in-law of Moon.
The prosecution is focusing its investigation on the suspected arrangement behind the appointment of Seo as an executive at Thai Eastar Jet in July of the same year after Lee was appointed as the chairman of the corporation. They believe Seo receiving a monthly salary of 8 million won and other benefits totaling around 200 million won from Thai Eastar Jet until 2020 could be considered as bribery to former President Moon. Seo reportedly received financial support from Moon’s family until his employment, after which the support was stopped.
The prosecution is concentrating on gathering evidence to prove these allegations through further searches and questioning of related individuals. The recent searches targeted various locations including the former lawmaker’s residence, the Presidential Archives in Sejong City, several government agencies, Seo’s residence in Yangsan City, Da-hye’s residence in Seoul, and even the bank accounts of former President Moon. Additionally, testimonies were taken from former Blue House officials such as Cho Kuk, who served as a senior secretary in the Moon administration, and Im Jong-seok, the former chief presidential secretary, who both invoked their right to remain silent during questioning.
After undergoing interrogation, Cho Kuk stated that he refused to testify due to his belief that the investigation is targeting former President Moon, suspecting it to be a cover-up tactic in response to recent public outrage over various allegations involving Yoon Seok-youl and Kim Gun-hee. Im Jong-seok also expressed discontent over the continuing politically motivated investigations against Moon administration personnel.
A Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office official emphasized that the current investigation is being conducted diligently within the judicial framework based on legally issued warrants, stressing that it is unrelated to political motives and is part of an ongoing investigation related to various suspicions surrounding Eastar Jet’s operations.