No Ung-rae Arrest Motion 'Rejected' in National Assembly... Han Dong-hoon "There Is an On-Site Recording File"

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon Unusually Persuades for Arrest Consent Bill
Many Democratic Party Lawmakers Seem to Have Voted Against Rep. Noh

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The arrest motion for Rep. No Woong-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea was rejected at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 28th. Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon unusually provided a detailed explanation of the circumstances under which the arrest motion was submitted and emphasized the necessity of passing the motion, but failed to persuade the National Assembly.

On the same day, the National Assembly held a plenary session and conducted a secret ballot on the arrest motion for Rep. No. The voting results were 101 in favor, 161 against, and 9 abstentions, resulting in the rejection of the arrest motion. Rep. No is accused of bribery, mediation of bribery, and violations of the Political Funds Act.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the arrest motion for Rep. No, the Democratic Party, to which Rep. No belongs, announced a free voting policy but appeared to have largely voted against the motion. The Justice Party had previously expressed support as a party stance. However, since the vote on the arrest motion was conducted by secret ballot, it is impossible to confirm the actual voting results.

The arrest motion was made due to the parliamentary immunity that prohibits the arrest or detention of a member of the National Assembly without the Assembly's consent during its session. Previously, all three arrest motions submitted during the 21st National Assembly were approved. This is the first time an arrest motion has been rejected in the 21st National Assembly.

Before the vote on the arrest motion, Minister Han, instead of giving a formal explanation of the reasons for the arrest motion, unusually explained the specific details of the crime and the case.

Minister Han said, "There is an audio recording capturing the exact moment when Rep. No received a bribe after a request," and introduced, "In over 20 years of handling many major corruption investigations, I have never seen a case where the act of exchanging illicit money was recorded so vividly." This indicates that evidence proving Rep. No's charges has been secured. Minister Han criticized Rep. No's claim that the investigation is fabricated by the authorities, saying, "He is conducting a false public opinion campaign," and asserted, "If there is clear evidence, I believe even a member of the National Assembly should naturally be arrested."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Rep. No, in a personal statement, responded, "Minister Han says there is more than enough evidence, but why was nothing asked, presented, or confirmed during the investigation process?" He added, "Suddenly claiming there is a recording without asking anything completely disregards the right to defense." He appealed, "Please give me a fair chance to defend myself," and said, "I will respond to the prosecution's investigation whenever summoned."

The People Power Party criticized immediately after the rejection of the arrest motion, stating in a commentary, "The rejection of Rep. No's arrest motion can only be seen as a rehearsal for shielding Lee Jae-myung."

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