Lee Jae-myung 'Push and Pull' with Prosecutors over Attendance Date... The Issue is the Arrest Warrant Approval

As the prosecution investigating Ssangbangwool's alleged illegal remittance to North Korea summons Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, at the end of this month, a standoff over the 'summons date' has unfolded between the prosecution and Lee's side. Lee's side said they would go on the 24th, but the prosecution rejected this and insisted on the 30th. The opposition party points out that the prosecution's demand for Lee to appear on the 30th is highly politically motivated. It is seen as a prelude to filing an arrest warrant during the regular parliamentary session.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 24th, Choi Jae-sung, former senior secretary for political affairs at the Blue House, said on YTN's "News King Park Ji-hoon" that "The prosecution is engaging in politics. After conducting such an investigation, insisting that it must be the 30th or not at all is simply absurd," adding, "Even though they could file an arrest warrant in August, they are politically manipulating the schedule like this, and therefore, Lee is staging a kind of protest against the prosecution's behavior."

The power struggle over the 'appearance date' between Lee and the prosecution is claimed to stem from the prosecution's political conduct. Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon also criticized the prosecution's summons attitude on MBC's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus," saying, "According to reports, the representative's office did not receive any contact and first heard about the next week through the media. So, the representative's office was somewhat upset and said they would go tomorrow," highlighting the issue.

He said, "Using the media to say 'Come here and report' is really abnormal," and such behavior accumulates distrust toward the prosecution," he pointed out.

The reason the appearance date has become a hot issue is closely related to the timing of the arrest warrant request for Lee. Considering that in the past, arrest warrants were requested about six days after summons, summoning Lee on the 30th likely means an arrest warrant will be requested around the beginning of next month during the regular parliamentary session.

Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Won-shik said on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs," "It's not just a matter of timing; it's because of the arrest warrant," adding, "What we have been saying about the arrest warrant is that we will waive immunity, so send it when there is no parliamentary session."

He continued, "The party leader said, 'I will waive immunity, so send it when there is no session.' Then it should be sent when there is no session," expressing dissatisfaction, "The regular session starts and once it starts, it cannot be interrupted for 120 days, so they should send it either before or after the session."

If an arrest warrant is requested during the regular parliamentary session, a vote on the consent to arrest must be held in the National Assembly. Regarding the vote on the consent to arrest, the non-Myeong faction insists that members "must attend," while the pro-Myeong faction is calling for a boycott, raising concerns about factional division within the party.

There is also analysis that if the consent to arrest vote takes place, it is more likely to pass than in February, as more votes in favor are expected. Ha Tae-kyung, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, said, "The number will increase compared to last time," adding, "About 35 people actually supported it last time, but this time 50 to 70 will support it, so it will be passed."

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