The Arrest Consent Procedure for Representative Lee Jae-myung Begins... Vote Expected on the 21st

Court Submits Arrest Consent Request for Representative Lee to Government
No Statement from Representative Lee During Hunger Strike... Weight on Possibility of Rejection

The arrest consent procedure for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has been indicted on charges including breach of trust related to preferential treatment in the development of Baekhyeon-dong and bribery during the illegal remittance to North Korea by Ssangbangwool Group, began on the 18th.

The Seoul Central District Court sent a request for arrest consent regarding Lee to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the afternoon of the same day.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is on the 16th day of his hunger strike, is passing in front of Democratic Party lawmakers who are holding a support sit-in in the National Assembly hallway on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The request is known to have been forwarded to the Prime Minister's Office via the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and the Ministry of Justice. Subsequently, after the President's approval, the Ministry of Justice is expected to request arrest consent from the National Assembly.

On the morning of the same day, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 (Chief Prosecutor Eom Hee-jun) of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office filed a pre-arrest warrant request against Lee on charges including breach of trust under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes, subornation of perjury, bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes, and violation of the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, related to preferential treatment in Baekhyeon-dong development and the Ssangbangwool Group's remittance to North Korea.

Charges include causing at least 20 billion KRW in damages to Seongnam Urban Development Corporation by granting preferential treatment to private businesses in Baekhyeon-dong, causing Ssangbangwool Group to pay a total of 8 million USD in North Korea visit expenses that should have been paid to North Korea, and instructing perjury in his public official election law violation trial related to impersonating a prosecutor.

According to Article 26 of the National Assembly Act (Procedure for Requesting Consent for Arrest), after the President's approval, the government attaches a copy of the request for arrest consent to the National Assembly and requests consent. The Speaker reports this at the first plenary session, and a vote must be held between 24 hours and 72 hours after the report.

The arrest consent proposal is expected to be reported at the plenary session on the 20th and voted on the 21st.

The proposal passes if a majority of the total members are present and a majority of those present vote in favor. If passed, the court schedules a pre-arrest suspect hearing, conducts a substantive review of the warrant, and decides whether to issue the arrest warrant. If rejected, the court dismisses the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution without a separate hearing.

Earlier, Lee declared the waiver of immunity from arrest during the negotiation group leaders' speech at the National Assembly on June 19. Also, when appearing before the prosecution for the fourth time after the presidential election on the 17th of last month, he stated, "If an arrest warrant is requested based on an absurd fabricated investigation, I will voluntarily appear and undergo the warrant review."

However, since Lee began an indefinite hunger strike, voices calling for the rejection of the arrest consent proposal have emerged not only from the pro-Lee faction within the Democratic Party but also from the anti-Lee faction, which had previously advocated for Lee's waiver of immunity. As Lee has not taken a clear stance on the arrest consent proposal, political and legal circles widely expect the proposal to be rejected.

On the 19th day of his hunger strike, Lee was transported to a hospital in the morning due to deteriorating health, but the prosecution filed the arrest warrant request as originally planned.

A prosecution official explained the background, saying, "Criminal justice should not be politicized, and no obstacles to criminal justice should arise from factors other than the rights guaranteed by law to the suspect. Under the principle of applying the arrest criteria generally applicable to suspects by law, we sufficiently considered the seriousness of the crime and the risk of evidence destruction and filed the arrest warrant request."

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