Prosecutors Investigate Lee Seong-man and Yoon Kwan-seok in Succession... 'Immunity from Arrest' Controversy Resurfaces (Comprehensive)

On the 19th, the prosecution summoned and is investigating Lee Seong-man, an independent lawmaker, for the first time among incumbent lawmakers who allegedly distributed or received money envelopes during the 2021 Democratic Party of Korea convention. This marks the prosecution's full-scale investigation into sitting lawmakers. Consequently, the issue of parliamentary immunity from arrest is expected to spark renewed controversy.

Independent Assemblyman Lee Sung-man
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-cheol) began summoning Lee at 9 a.m. that day. Before entering the Central District Prosecutors' Office building, Lee stated, "I neither gave nor delivered any money," adding, "I hope the prosecution's investigation does not become a predetermined conclusion based on a scripted scenario. I will resist attempts to punish through a public trial by illegally leaking unconfirmed allegations and inflating suspicions."

The prosecution is coordinating schedules to summon Yoon Kwan-seok, another independent lawmaker, for questioning early next week. The prosecution plans to investigate the source of funds, specific delivery routes, and other lawmakers who received money envelopes from both lawmakers. A prosecution official said, "We have identified the recipients of the money envelopes and uncovered a significant part of the case's substance. The investigation is progressing." The prosecution is categorizing the recipients mainly into regional headquarters chiefs, situation room chiefs, and incumbent lawmakers. Based on the investigation of Lee and Yoon and the analysis of seized evidence, the prosecution is considering whether to summon other incumbent lawmakers who received money envelopes.

In the legal community, attention is focused on whether dozens of incumbent lawmakers will be summoned en masse for investigation and whether arrest warrants will be requested. It is clear that the prosecution will seek to secure the custody of Lee and Yoon immediately. The prosecution believes that before investigating Song Young-gil, the former Democratic Party leader and the ultimate beneficiary of the money envelope scandal, it is essential to conduct detention investigations of the two lawmakers. The prosecution judges that Lee and Yoon know best whether Song directly ordered or was involved in the distribution of money envelopes. Numerous related details have been confirmed in the 'Lee Jeong-geun recording file' obtained by the prosecution.

If the prosecution requests arrest warrants for incumbent lawmakers, including the two, who have immunity from arrest during the parliamentary session, the National Assembly must hold a vote on the arrest consent motion in a plenary session. The National Assembly is currently in a temporary session. If a majority of the total members are present and a majority of those present vote in favor, the arrest consent motion passes. Subsequently, the court reviews the necessity of detention during the warrant's substantive examination.

Prosecution
Photo by Yonhap News

Political and legal circles view the likelihood of the arrest consent motion passing for Lee and Yoon as high. Both lawmakers have already left their parties, and the Democratic Party also recognizes the seriousness of the case. If the Democratic Party, the majority party in the National Assembly with 167 seats, votes in favor, the chances of the motion passing increase. This is influenced by the strong criticism of the Democratic Party for the so-called "bulletproof parliament" when it rejected arrest consent motions for lawmaker Roh Woong-rae and party leader Lee Jae-myung in December last year and February this year.

Meanwhile, in the 21st National Assembly, there have been six votes on arrest consent motions for incumbent lawmakers. The motions for lawmaker Roh and leader Lee were rejected, while those for then-Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Jeong-soon, then-independent lawmaker Lee Sang-jik, and People Power Party lawmakers Jeong Chan-min and Ha Young-je were approved.

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