Prosecutors try again to get arrest warrants for ex-DP lawmakers

Prosecutors on Tuesday submitted arrest warrants against Reps. Youn Kwan-suk and Lee Sung-man for the second time over their alleged involvement in a prominent cash-for-votes scandal tied to the liberal Democratic Party’s (DP) 2021 leadership race.

Reps. Youn Kwan-suk and Lee Sung-man await the final tallies of parliamentary votes regarding their arrest motions at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on June 12. The legislature voted to reject the arrest motions against both lawmakers. [YONHAP]

Prosecutors on Tuesday submitted arrest warrants against Reps. Youn Kwan-suk and Lee Sung-man for the second time over their alleged involvement in a prominent cash-for-votes scandal tied to the liberal Democratic Party’s (DP) 2021 leadership race.

The National Assembly rejected arrest motions against the two lawmakers earlier this year.

Youn and Lee, now both independent lawmakers, have been accused of helping distribute bribes to party members and lawmakers to garner support for former DP leader Song Young-gil’s bid to win the party’s leadership election in May 2021.

Song went on to win the race and served as DP chairman until March 2022.

Prosecutors initially sought arrest warrants for Youn and Lee in May, but the DP-controlled National Assembly later rejected arrest motions against both lawmakers.

Although parliamentary consent is required to arrest lawmakers while the National Assembly is in session, the legislature is currently in recess until Aug. 16.

As such, approval of the arrest warrants against the two lawmakers hinges on the Seoul Central District Court.

Youn is suspected by prosecutors of having helped distribute some 60 million won ($45,500) to other DP lawmakers before the convention by divvying up the amount into envelopes containing 3 million won each.

He left the DP in early May alongside Lee, who is accused of being involved in distributing 9 million won to the chiefs of the Song campaign’s regional chapters.

Prosecutors suspect that Song’s campaign aides distributed envelopes of cash totaling 94 million won to party members to shore up support for his candidacy.

Both Youn and Lee have denied the allegations, claiming that the prosecution fabricated the accusations to tarnish the DP’s image.

The prosecution previously requested the legislature’s consent to arrest DP leader Lee Jae-myung in February and four-term DP lawmaker Noh Woong-rae in December, but the National Assembly also rejected both requests.

Lee is under indictment on charges of corruption, breach of trust and bribery for his alleged role in two development projects launched during his 2010-2018 tenure as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi, while Noh is accused of accepting some 60 million won in illegal funds from a businessman around the time of the 2020 parliamentary elections.

The National Assembly did approve a motion in March allowing prosecutors to arrest Rep. Ha Young-je, a lawmaker from the conservative People's Power Party (PPP) who is accused of receiving a 70-million-won illegal political contribution from a South Gyeongsang provincial council candidate before local government elections held in June last year.

Only 16 arrest motions against sitting lawmakers have ever been approved by the National Assembly, with 18 being rejected and 33 being withdrawn or expired.

In an effort to shed its image of shielding members who face criminal prosecution, the DP announced in late June that it will no longer actively defend its lawmakers from future arrest motions filed to the National Assembly.

The announcement followed a recommendation by the DP’s internal innovation committee, which was created to overhaul the party ahead of parliamentary elections due to be held next year.

While the policy change fell short of adopting the committee’s advice, which was that the party should support arrest motions against lawmakers facing criminal allegations, DP spokesman Kwon Chil-seung said the party would no longer open temporary legislative sessions to vote down arrest motions and would urge lawmakers to present themselves for investigation when the legislature is out of session.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]