'Jeondangdaehoe Donbongtu' Allegations: Arrest Motion for Yoon Gwansuk and Lee Seongman Rejected

Passed with more than 112 votes... Defection detected
Both People Power Party and Justice Party express "regret" stance

The arrest consent motions for independent lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Seong-man, who left the Democratic Party of Korea amid allegations related to the 'Democratic Party Money Envelope Scandal,' were rejected on the 12th.

On the afternoon of the same day, the National Assembly held a plenary session and conducted a secret ballot on the arrest consent motions for the two lawmakers. Among the 293 members present, Yoon’s motion received 139 votes in favor, 145 against, and 9 abstentions, while Lee’s motion received 132 votes in favor, 155 against, and 6 abstentions, resulting in the final rejection of both motions.

The two lawmakers are accused of being involved in delivering money envelopes to secure the election of former party leader Song Young-gil at the 2021 Democratic Party leadership convention. Before the vote on the arrest consent motions, Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon emphasized, "According to the facts of the crime, about 20 Democratic Party lawmakers who are logically and inevitably identified as recipients of the money envelopes are present here and will participate in the vote," adding, "The votes of these approximately 20 members are expected to be the casting votes that will determine the outcome."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

"Warrant is Flawed" Plea... After Final Rejection, "Will Legally Prove Innocence"

Lawmakers Yoon and Lee appealed for rejection by pointing out the grounds for the prosecution’s warrant request. Before the vote, Yoon stated in a personal statement, "The prosecution claims that I gave money envelopes to a total of 20 lawmakers, 10 each on the 28th and 29th. However, the important point is that they have not specified the names of any lawmakers who received the money envelopes," criticizing, "It is a flawed and unjust warrant request where the giver denies it and no one admits to receiving it." Regarding Minister Han’s remarks, he also pointed out, "It is very wrong to raise issues as if the 20 members participating in the vote, whose identities have not yet been determined, are guilty."

Lawmaker Lee criticized the reasons presented for the detention warrant. He said, "The prosecution has not presented any specific evidence of what was destroyed. Rather, they claim there is a high risk of evidence destruction because I have identified various pieces of evidence held by the prosecution through the investigation process," raising his voice, "Is it not absurd that sincerely responding to the prosecution’s investigation requests becomes grounds for detention?" He continued, "I earnestly ask you to ensure that the prosecution’s coercive investigation and detention attempts do not lead to violations of our citizens’ fundamental rights and human rights."

After the final rejection of the arrest consent motions, Lee, leaving the plenary hall, told reporters, "For detention to occur, the risk of evidence destruction must be clear and objective, but the prosecution requested a detention warrant without meeting even the basic requirements," adding, "I believe lawmakers understood this, which is why the arrest consent motions were rejected." Yoon expressed gratitude, saying, "I thank the National Assembly and senior colleagues for their wise decision," and stated, "It has been proven that the politically motivated prosecution’s fabricated investigation is unjust. I will actively clarify my innocence and unfairness through legal procedures going forward."

Defection Votes Detected... 'Approval' Votes Exceeding People Power Party’s 112 Votes

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, in this vote, the number of approval votes exceeded the number of People Power Party members participating in the vote, indicating the presence of 'defection votes.' According to the People Power Party, out of 113 party members, 112 participated in the vote excluding lawmaker Jeong Chan-min, who is currently detained, and all cast 'yes' votes. The Justice Party also voted unanimously in favor with all six members present. Considering the 13 seats held by opposition and independent lawmakers excluding the Justice Party and Democratic Party, it is estimated that at least one and up to 21 Democratic Party lawmakers voted in favor of the arrest consent motions.

Democratic Party lawmaker Seo Young-kyo, leaving the plenary session after the vote, said, "I think they voted according to their conscience after hearing both sides and deciding 'this is not right,' possibly because rejecting the motions would burden the party." Lawmaker Lee Won-wook commented on the rejection, "I think it was a strong reaction against Minister Han’s provocation." When asked about the 'defection votes,' Lee Seong-man said, "People have diverse thoughts, so you cannot criticize those individual thoughts," adding, "Overall, it seems the collective intelligence judged detention to be inappropriate, although individuals may differ."

The People Power Party, which had held a party meeting before the plenary session to set a 'pro-approval party line,' expressed regret. Floor leader Yoon Jae-ok told reporters after the vote, "The people were not considered at all, and the rejection of the arrest consent motions goes against the will of the people," adding, "I deeply regret this and will watch how long the Democratic Party continues to maintain this 'bulletproof formation' and betray the will of the people."

The Justice Party also issued criticism. Justice Party lawmaker Ryu Ho-jeong told reporters at the National Assembly regarding the rejection, "It was narrowly rejected, lacking about 8 to 10 votes. They say it’s serious in words, but their actions do not reflect that," criticizing, "The Democratic Party still hasn’t come to its senses."

Meanwhile, including this vote, in the 21st National Assembly, out of eight votes on arrest consent motions, four were approved. The motions for Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Jeong-soon in October 2020, independent lawmaker Lee Sang-jik in April 2021, People Power Party lawmaker Jeong Chan-min in September 2021, and People Power Party lawmaker Ha Young-je in March this year were approved. The motions for Democratic Party lawmaker Roh Woong-rae in December last year, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung in February this year, and the motions for lawmakers Yoon and Lee on this day were rejected.

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