Prosecutors Express Regret Over Rejection of No Woong-rae Arrest Motion, Citing "Lack of Fairness"

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] On the 28th, after the National Assembly plenary session rejected the arrest motion for No Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea accused of bribery and violation of the Political Funds Act, the prosecution expressed "regret."

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team issued a statement regarding the news of the rejection of the arrest motion for Representative No, saying, "This case clearly involves grounds for detention due to the acceptance of money and valuables by abusing the position of a member of the National Assembly, and we regret the result that the arrest motion was rejected by the National Assembly."

"Compared to previous cases in the 21st National Assembly where arrest motions for members accused of corruption crimes were all approved, this result is unfair," they added, "The prosecution will conduct a swift and thorough investigation to ensure judicial processing that corresponds to the severity of the crime."

Meanwhile, in the plenary session held that day, the arrest motion for Representative No was rejected with 101 votes in favor, 161 against, and 9 abstentions out of 271 anonymous votes.

Representative No is accused of receiving a total of 60 million won from businessman Park Mo in the name of election expenses for the 21st National Assembly election from February to December 2020 (charges of bribery, mediation bribery, and violation of the Political Funds Act). The prosecution believes that Park requested Representative No to expedite the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's real demand verification process for a logistics complex development project, support for a solar power project, and personnel recommendations related to the local tax office chief and executives of Korea East-West Power Co., Ltd. while delivering the money.

Accordingly, the prosecution filed a pre-arrest warrant for Representative No on the 12th. Since incumbent members of the National Assembly have immunity from arrest and detention without the Assembly's consent during sessions, the vote was held in the National Assembly plenary session on that day.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.