Rejected or Approved... Which Will the Opposition Choose for Lee's Arrest Warrant?

Lee Won-wook "If confident of innocence, warrants won't be feared"
Park Yong-jin "Lee said 'I will go on my own' several times"

The arrest motion for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has been indicted on suspicion of preferential treatment in the development of Baekhyun-dong and allegations of remittances to North Korea through Ssangbangwool, is expected to be voted on at the National Assembly plenary session on the 21st. While Lee has continued his hunger strike for over 20 days, the atmosphere within the party is superficially leaning toward a 'rejection.'

However, since the arrest motion will be voted on by secret ballot, there is also a possibility of 'approval' votes within the Democratic Party. The first arrest motion vote for Lee in February was ultimately rejected, but it is understood that about 30 to 40 dissenting votes came from within the party. The arrest motion is approved if a majority of the total members attend and a majority of those present vote in favor. The Democratic Party holds 167 of the 297 total seats, so the decision depends on the choices of its members.

Some in the non-mainstream faction point out that Lee himself declared the 'waiver of immunity from arrest' in June, arguing that Lee should declare 'approval.' If the arrest motion is rejected again, it will be difficult to shake off the stigma of being a 'shield party,' and there are concerns it will affect next year's general election.

On the 14th day of his hunger strike, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is having a conversation with members of the National Solidarity for Economic Democratization and Peaceful Reunification at the party leader's office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 13th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 20th, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-wook said in an interview with SBS Radio, "During the negotiation group leader's speech in June, Lee declared that he would waive his immunity from arrest in political investigations. The first agenda of the Kim Eun-kyung Innovation Committee, formed after the Kim Nam-guk coin scandal, was the waiver of immunity from arrest," adding, "If he is a leader, he should request the lawmakers by saying, 'I will confidently go to the warrant hearing, so please approve the party's stance this time.'"

Lee said, "Lee's defense attorney Park Gyun-taek concluded that the prosecution's arrest warrant request is really a poor fabrication and forgery, so there is no possibility that the court will issue the warrant," and added, "Then what is there to fear about attending the warrant hearing?"

He continued, "If the warrant hearing is held and Lee is found not guilty, the political nature of the prosecutors' investigation will be clearly exposed, which will be a major setback for the Yoon Seok-yeol administration."

On the same day, lawmaker Park Yong-jin appeared on KBS Radio and made similar claims.

Park said, "If it is rejected, the ruling party will be shaken again by accusations of being a 'shield party,' and if it is approved, there will be various controversies within the party," adding, "Instead of a free vote by lawmakers, what is needed is leadership from the representative who says, 'It is unfair, please reject it,' or 'If you approve it unanimously, I am confident I will go to court and be acquitted or have it dismissed.'"

Park also emphasized, "Lee has said several times that he will 'walk there on his own feet,' and waiving immunity from arrest was also his campaign pledge. Quite a number of lawmakers have personally declared the waiver of immunity from arrest. So (approval of the arrest motion) is already the party's stance."

Meanwhile, factional conflicts within the Democratic Party are showing signs of intensifying again over the vote on Lee's arrest motion. The pro-Lee faction insists that the motion must be rejected.

Some of the Democratic Party's hardline supporters have also pressured by publicly listing the names of lawmakers who expressed intentions to reject the motion on internet communities. Park stressed again that whether the arrest motion vote results in rejection or approval, internal turmoil is inevitable, and "It is right for Lee to clearly state his position."

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