Main opposition leader narrowly escapes arrest after National Assembly vote

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung, center, talks with lawmakers after delivering a speech before lawmakers vote on his arrest motion during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Lee Jae-myung faces huge political repercussions

By Nam Hyun-woo

Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Lee Jae-myung barely escaped arrest, Monday, amid a relentless pursuit by prosecutors accusing him of corruption and bribery. The National Assembly narrowly voted down a motion to arrest Lee despite the DPK's parliamentary majority.

The highly unexpected result is feared to wreak havoc on his leadership, trigger factional infighting and eventually weigh heavily on the main opposition party.

During a plenary session of the Assembly, 297 out of 299 lawmakers cast their ballots on a parliamentary consent to arrest the former presidential candidate. Out of the total votes, 139 approved Lee's arrest and 138 rejected it, while nine were abstentions and 11 were considered invalid. The DPK has 169 lawmakers.

The Assembly's consent to arrest an incumbent lawmaker requires the attendance of more than half of the total number of lawmakers and approvals from more than half of those in attendance, meaning at least 149 approvals were required for Lee's arrest.

The counting process dragged on for an hour, as it was unclear whether two ballots were rejections or were invalid. National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo decided that one was a rejection and the other was invalid.

Prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for Lee on Feb. 16 due to suspicions that he was involved in a land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province and attracted corporate donations to Seongnam Football Club (Seongnam FC) in return for administrative favors, when he was the mayor of the city.

This was an unexpected result for the DPK, which had anticipated more than 170 rejections. The party holds 169 seats in parliament and its leadership strongly opposed Lee's arrest. As a result, the DPK was confident of an easy dismissal of the motion, even though the ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the minor opposition Justice Party said they would approve Lee's arrest.

Given that there were independent lawmakers who were former DPK members, pundits assume approximately 30 to 40 DPK members expressed their disapproval of the party's leadership, casting doubts over Lee's grip over the DPK.

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung speaks during a plenary session of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

The ruling PPP's interim leader Chung Jin-suk said, "The result of approvals outnumbering rejections means that the Assembly virtually approved Lee's arrest." Chung added, "It was a political death sentence for the DPK chairman."

PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young said, "Lee should take political responsibility and resign from his chairmanship."

While the DPK was stunned by the result, speculation is mounting that the party will suffer serious factional infighting down the road.

"It was a very disappointing result," DPK Rep. Jung Sung-ho, who is a member of the pro-Lee faction, told a local media news outlet. "Even if there were various opinions within the party, I didn't image that the number could reach this level."

Jung said he is doubtful whether the main opposition party can stay together considering the number of members who sided with the PPP.

In this combined photo, members of conservative civic groups, top, and liberal civic groups, bottom, each stage a rally to address main opposition Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Jae-myung's arrest in front of the National Assembly, Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap

Following the rejection, the Seoul Central District Court will dismiss the prosecution's request for an arrest warrant, leaving prosecutors to choose between multiple options on how to handle the allegations raised against the chairman.

Since the National Assembly rejected the request, the prosecution will likely indict him without an arrest warrant. Since prosecutors sought the warrant by clearly stating charges against him, their investigations appear to have reached the final stages. And Lee had chosen to provide written responses to prosecutors' questions when he was summoned last month, leading the prosecution to believe that further in-person investigations may be unnecessary.

Alternatively, it is possible for prosecutors to postpone indicting Lee for the land development scandal and Seongnam FC cases and instead seek a separate arrest warrant for an additional allegation that he was involved in underwear maker Ssangbangwool's suspected cash remittances to North Korea.

Before the vote, Lee denied all allegations against him and claimed the investigation targeting him is a "far-fetched political propaganda" orchestrated by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

"The investigation is targeting a person, not the case," Lee said. "It is nothing more than a legal hunt which continues until the victim is being hunted… Using its powers for private interests is a betrayal of the people and a challenge to a democratic republic."