Former President Moon Jae-in Appears All Smiles During First Visit to the National Assembly Post-Indictment

Former President Moon Jae-in visited the National Assembly the day after being indicted on bribery charges, attending a ceremony commemorating the 7th anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration. At this event, a photo of him smiling broadly alongside First Lady Kim Jung-sook was shared, attracting attention.

On the 26th, former President Moon posted on his social media account a photo taken under a tree in full bloom, accompanied by the caption "Do not worry, my dear :)." This photo appears to have been taken during his first visit to the National Assembly since leaving office.

Before the ceremony, former President Moon held a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik.

In this meeting, he commented on the prosecution's indictment, stating, "I prepared answers based on what I remember, and I was visiting the Presidential Records Center to deeply verify the facts" and added, "It was an agreement with the prosecution that was still being coordinated, but I was abruptly indicted."

He further expressed concerns about the abuse of prosecutorial authority, stating, "The indictment itself is unjust, and I felt as though they were pushing forward in a predetermined direction."

In response, Speaker Woo stated, “In a time of national confusion, proper procedures were not followed, and it is difficult to accept both the timing and the content” and added, “It seems that the public will also find it hard to accept.” He emphasized the need for the National Assembly to examine procedural issues closely.

On this day, in his commemorative speech, former President Moon also strongly criticized the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. He remarked, “It has been three years since I returned to my hometown after completing my presidential term, and not a day has gone by in peace,” and added, "I had to hear the sound of the tower we built with the people during the Kim Dae-jung, Roh Moo-hyun, and Moon Jae-in administrations collapsing."

The Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office indicted former President Moon on the 24th for violations of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (bribery) at the Seoul Central District Court. The case has been assigned to the Criminal Division 21 (Chief Judge Lee Hyun-bok).

Former President Moon is accused of receiving a bribe amounting to 5,945,632 baht (approximately 217 million won) after inducing his former son-in-law, Seo, to be hired at Thai Asia Jet, which is owned by former lawmaker Lee Sang-jick.

Former lawmaker Lee is facing charges for providing bribes in the form of salary and relocation expenses by hiring Seo, as well as causing damage to Thai Asia Jet by hiring Seo, who lacks experience in the aviation industry.

Image sources: Instagram 'moonjaein', Former President Moon Jae-in / News1