"Moon, Clearly a Private Citizen"
Prosecutors are investigating allegations of preferential hiring involving Seo Mo, the former son-in-law of former President Moon Jae-in, while Moon's daughter, Moon Dahye, stated, "I will no longer tolerate this."
On the night of the 3rd, Moon posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account, saying, "Since the term 'economic community' was coined and became successful, did someone summon this nostalgic term again to give orders?" She added, "But we are not an economic community; we are a family bound by fate."
Moon continued, "Family is not something to be meddled with, but (former President Moon) is clearly a private individual. At this point, it seems like they just want to go all out," adding the hashtag '#NoHumility' at the end of her post. The phrase "At this point, it seems like they just want to go all out" is also famous as a remark made by the late former President Roh Moo-hyun during a 'Conversation with Prosecutors' in 2003.
At that time, when a prosecutor asked if he had ever made a request call to a prosecution official before his presidential inauguration, former President Roh responded directly, "At this point, it seems like they just want to go all out? If it comes to this, we have no choice but to engage in an uncompromising debate."
Earlier, the Criminal Division 3 of Jeonju District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Han Yeon-gyu) conducted a search and seizure on the 30th of last month at three locations: Moon's residence in Buam-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul; an exhibition planning company operated by Moon in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul; and a villa in Jeju Island. Prosecutors are reportedly investigating the amount of money Moon allegedly provided improperly to her family through this search.
Seo, who was Moon's husband, was employed as the executive director of Thai low-cost airline 'Thai Starjet,' established by former National Assembly member Lee Sang-jik, after Lee was appointed chairman of the Small and Medium Business Corporation (SBC) in July 2018. Seo had previously worked at a gaming company but had no experience in the aviation industry, which sparked controversy over his appointment as an executive.
The People Power Party, along with civic groups, filed complaints with the prosecution four times from September 2020 to April 2021, requesting an investigation into Seo's employment and the circumstances surrounding Lee's appointment as SBC chairman, alleging quid pro quo.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that during the search and seizure of Moon's residence and other locations, the warrant identified former President Moon as a "suspect in bribery charges." Prosecutors view the approximately 200 million won in salary Seo received as executive director of Thai Starjet as bribe money.
The logic is that if former President Moon stopped supporting his daughter's living expenses due to Seo's employment, it would have reduced the financial burden on the former president and his wife, resulting in a direct benefit. For this reason, prosecutors are expected to focus on proving that former President Moon and his daughter were a so-called "economic community."
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