(4th LD) National Assembly narrowly votes against plan to arrest opposition leader

(ATTN: UPDATES with comments from rival parties, Minister of Justice)
By Lee Haye-ah, Lee Minji and Kim Na-young

SEOUL, 27 Feb. (Yonhap) — The National Assembly voted on Monday to reject the government’s request to allow the arrest of opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on corruption charges by a margin of one vote, a startling result that shows that many Lee party supporters voted for his arrest.

The motion was defeated 139-138 with nine abstentions and 11 ruled invalid.

The result, although in line with the widely held view that Lee’s main opposition party, the Democratic Party (DP) would use its majority power to reject the request, came as a surprise as it could mean that up to 30 DP lawmakers could have cast dissenting votes. voice.

The DP, which has 169 lawmakers in the 299-seat National Assembly, had urged its lawmakers to reject the motion, criticizing the prosecution’s attempt to arrest Lee as President Yoon Suk Yeol’s political revenge against his presidential rival. . ‘presidential election.

All DP MPs took part in the vote.

For the motion to pass, the majority of the members of the Assembly had to vote and the majority of those who had voted to vote in favour. In Monday’s case, at least 149 votes were needed in favor of Lee’s arrest, as 297 of the 299 members of the National Assembly took part in the vote.

By law, the consent of Parliament is required to arrest a legislator while Parliament is sitting.

Prosecutors had previously requested a arrest warrant for Lee on allegations of corruption and bribery in development stemming from his tenure as mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, from 2010 to 2018. It was the first time an arrest warrant was issued. issued. claimed against the leader of the largest opposition party in the country.

Lee has maintained his innocence, dismissing all allegations against him as fabrication.

The ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) has urged Lee to waive his immunity from arrest and appear for an arrest warrant hearing. He blamed the DP for opening temporary parliamentary sessions to protect its leader from arrest.

Prosecutors are widely expected to indict the opposition leader without detention, as parliament’s rejection of the motion will automatically dismiss the prosecutor’s request for an arrest warrant against him.

After the vote, PPP leader Joo Ho-young called on Lee to step down as DP chairman to take on his “political responsibility”. He noted that the vote result should be taken as de facto consent, given that some DP lawmakers voted in favor of the motion.

“The DP, with its majority of parliamentary seats, ultimately denied the rule of law, the very foundation of democracy. Today will go down in history as the day of disgrace for the National Assembly,” PPP spokesman Park Jeong-ha said.

DP chief Park Hong-keun said the rejection was a “reasonable outcome” given the “unfair” nature of the investigation into Lee.

“We have protected democracy from the unjust political repression of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration,” Park said. He called on the Yoon government to focus on helping people’s livelihoods rather than trying to eliminate his political enemy.

Park acknowledged that the result showed there were different opinions on Lee within the party, adding that he would work to hear them.

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who urged the Assembly to consent to Lee’s arrest, said he believed lawmakers’ immunity from arrest was not intended for situations like this. -this. -This.

The presidential office declined to comment, citing the inappropriateness of making a statement about it.

mlee@yna.co.kr
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