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Former South Korean leader Moon Jae-in has been charged with bribery, according to the prosecution.

Jeonju District Prosecutors’ Office claimed in a statement on Thursday that Moon, who led South Korea from 2017 to 2022 under the banner of the center-left Democratic Party, allegedly made his then son-in-law work for a Thai airline.

In exchange for Lee Sang-jik’s ex-son-in-law, known as Seo, being appointed executive director at Thai Eastar Jet, which Lee held control of at the time, the prosecution alleges that Moon appointed him to lead the SMEs and Startups Agency.

They contend that Seo received a bribe from some 223 million won ($151, 959) in salary and other benefits.

The indictment was viewed as a misuse of prosecutorial authority and political motivation, according to the Democratic Party.

“So the son-in-law’s salary was a bribe to the president,” the statement read. After dragging the case out for four years, is this the best logic they could come up with? in a statement, spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee said.

He joins a long list of former South Korean presidents who have faced legal problems as a result of Moon’s indictment.

Former president Yoon Suk-yeol’s replacement, who was impeached by Moon, is currently facing insurrection-related charges after making a brief declaration of martial law last year.

Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, two of Moon’s immediate predecessors, are among the four ex-South Korean leaders who have received prison sentences.

Former president Roh Moo-hyun, Moon’s political mentor, committed suicide in 2009 while being investigated for bribery.

Former human rights attorney Moon, who is now in office, advocated for greater social welfare and encouraged reconciliation with North Korea.

Donald Trump, the president of the United States, has reiterated his intention to lower China’s crippling tariffs, but he emphasized that Beijing’s decision will determine whether any relief will be granted.

Trump said he could announce new tariffs on US trading partners, including China, over the coming weeks, based on the outcome of negotiations with other nations, and made the statement to reporters at the White House on Wednesday.

“They’ll have to decide that. We are in a very, very good location right now. When Trump was asked how soon he could lower the 145 percent tariff he has placed on the majority of Chinese goods, he responded that it was called the United States of America and had been ripped off for years and years.

What I believe will happen is that, if we don’t have a deal with a company or country, we’ll set the tariff.

Trump claimed to have a “very good” relationship with Xi Jinping, and that he hoped a deal would be reached between the two leaders.

Otherwise, Trump said, “We will set a price.”

Trump responded to a question earlier on Wednesday asking if his administration was “actively” talking to China. Everything is active. Everyone wants to participate in what we do.

Trump’s comments came as Wall Street rose for the second day straight in anticipation of Washington and Beijing’s efforts to ease trade tensions that have erupted into a successful embargo between the world’s two largest economies.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished up 2.50 percent, up 1.67 percent from Wednesday, when the benchmark S&amp, P 500, and US Treasury Scott Bessent’s comments that trade with China was “unsustainable” helped propel gains made earlier.

The Trump administration was reportedly considering lowering tariffs on Chinese goods by 50 to 60% in a bid to lower tensions, according to the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

Trump was considering a number of options for lowering the duties, according to the report, which cited people with knowledge of the situation.

Trump made it known on Tuesday that his 145 percent tariff on China was “very high” and that it would eventually “come down significantly”

China has stated that if the US continues to raise its trade disputes, it will “fight to the end” despite the fact that it opposes protectionist measures like tariffs.

China does not seek a war, but we have made it abundantly clear that we don’t fear it. Guo Jiakun, a spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, stated during a regular media briefing on Wednesday that “we will fight, if we must.”

If the US wants to talk, our doors are open. Stop threatening and blackmailing China and pursuing dialogue based on equality, respect, and mutual benefit if the US truly desires a negotiated solution.

Concerns about a global economic slowdown have increased as a result of the International Monetary Fund cutting its 2025 growth forecast from 3.3% to 2.8% earlier this week.

A group of 12 US states, including Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, and New York, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday challenging Trump’s right to impose the tariffs without the US Congress’s approval.

The states claimed that Trump “upended the constitutional order and caused chaos to the American economy” in the lawsuit filed with the US Court of International Trade in New York.

Attorney General of Arizona, Kris Mayes, said in a statement that President Trump’s insane tariff plan is “not only economically reckless – it is also illegal.”