World News for Students of English

28-04-2025 15:00

Former South Korean President Moon has been indicted for bribery.

Prosecutors say the case involves Moon’s son-in-law, who got a job at a Thai airline. They believe the job and payments were given in exchange for Moon appointing a certain lawmaker, Lee Sang-jik, to a top government position.

Prosecutors say this counts as a bribe and compare it to past cases involving former presidents Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, who were also convicted of bribery. Moon’s aide, Youn Kun-young, says the accusations are false and politically motivated. He wrote online that Moon was not properly investigated. Moon, a civil rights lawyer and president from 2017 to 2022, hasn’t commented publicly yet.

This case adds to the history of South Korean leaders facing legal trouble after leaving office. Moon’s successor, Yoon Suk Yeol, was recently impeached and is now on trial. A new election is planned for June 3, and the liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung is leading. His team also called the charges against Moon political revenge.

Difficult words: indicted (formally accused of a crime), bribery (giving money or gifts to gain an unfair advantage), politically motivated (done for political, not legal, reasons).

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