Woo Won-sik "Why Doesn't the Prosecution Send Arrest Warrants During Non-Session Periods?"

"Why Insist on a Vote?"
"Kim Nam-guk, a Carefully Considered Proposal"

Regarding the prosecution's summons of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, amid investigations into Ssangbangwool's alleged illegal remittances to North Korea, a tug-of-war over the summons date is ongoing between the prosecution and Lee's side. In this context, Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Won-shik criticized the prosecution, saying, "There was plenty of time, so why not send the arrest warrant during the non-session period?"

On the 24th, Woo said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "It's not just a matter of timing not matching well; it's because of sending the arrest warrant," adding, "What we've been saying about the arrest warrant is that we will waive immunity, so send it when the National Assembly is not in session."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the summons date, Lee expressed his intention to appear on the 24th, while the prosecution is requesting the 30th. Within the Democratic Party, there is an analysis that the prosecution setting the date as the 30th is a strategic move to file the arrest warrant during the regular session of the National Assembly.

Woo expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "If the party leader says, 'I will waive my immunity, so send it when the Assembly is not in session,' then it should be sent during the non-session period," adding, "Once the regular session starts, it lasts for 120 days without interruption, so they should either send it before or after the session."

If an arrest warrant is filed during the regular session, a vote on the consent to arrest must be held. Within the Democratic Party, opinions differ on the vote for consent to arrest; some argue that the vote must be attended, while others suggest boycotting it. There are concerns that factional conflicts may erupt triggered by the vote on the consent to arrest.

In response to the host's question about voices saying, "If sent during the session, Lee should declare to approve it," Woo said, "That should be discussed after seeing the situation at that time," adding, "Lee has said he will waive immunity and will appear for substantive examination if summoned by the prosecution, so why force a vote?"

Regarding the postponement of disciplinary action by the National Assembly Ethics Committee following Kim Nam-guk's surprise announcement not to run for re-election, Woo positively evaluated it, saying, "For a politician, announcing not to run is practically a death sentence. It is a measure that involved a lot of consideration." Although Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-wook warned that "we must abandon leniency," Woo said, "In the future, objective judgment and proper verification should be done to impose punishment."

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