Democratic Party's 'Money Envelope Suspicion' Delays Investigation of Receiving Lawmaker... Prosecution Requests "Please Cooperate"

Possibility of Forced Summons ↓… Prosecution: "Parliamentary Consent Procedure Exists, Considering Various Situations"

Investigation into the lawmakers suspected of accepting money envelopes related to the Democratic Party of Korea's party convention money envelope distribution allegations is being delayed.

Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Seocho-gu, Seoul. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

A Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office official stated on the 1st, "We have requested summonses for the lawmakers suspected of accepting money envelopes, as we believe attendance is necessary to uncover the full details of the matter," adding, "We are coordinating the attendance dates, but understand that progress is not smooth due to various scheduling conflicts."

He continued, "We ask the members of the National Assembly, who represent the people's will, to cooperate so that the full truth can be revealed, considering the seriousness and gravity of the matter as mentioned in court."

The prosecution is known to have requested summonses for 10 lawmakers who were identified as having received money envelopes containing 3 million won each from independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok at a 'Members of the National Assembly Meeting' held on April 28, 2021, in the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's small conference room in the National Assembly main building, under the pretext of supporting former party leader Song Young-gil.

The prosecution has already conducted investigations on independent lawmaker Lee Seong-man and Democratic Party lawmakers Heo Jong-sik and Lim Jong-seong among them. However, the remaining lawmakers are reportedly not responding to the prosecution's summons notices, citing preparations for the general election as the reason.

However, the prosecution does not appear to be considering forced detention. A prosecution official said, "Since they are members of the National Assembly, even if we detain them, there is a procedure requiring the consent of the National Assembly, so various factors must be considered," adding, "The investigation team will proceed in an efficient manner."

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