[National] Main opposition leader narrowly escapes arrest after National Assembly vote

Lee Jae-myung faces huge political repercussions
Representative Lee Jae-myung faces enormous 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.
A motion for the arrest of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myeong was narrowly rejected on Monday amid a relentless pursuit by prosecutors on charges of corruption and bribery. The National Assembly narrowly rejected the motion to arrest Lee, despite the Democratic Party’s 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.
It is feared that such a shocking result will deal a serious blow to Lee’s leadership and spark a factional fight, eventually putting a heavy burden on the main opposition Democratic 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.
At the plenary session of the National Assembly, 297 out of 299 lawmakers voted for the motion to arrest Lee Jae-myung, who was a presidential candidate. Of the total votes, 139 votes were in favor of Lee’s arrest, 138 votes were against, and 9 abstentions and 11 invalid votes were processed. The Democratic Party has 169 members.

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 requirement for the approval of the motion for the arrest of incumbent members of the National Assembly is that the majority of the current members are in attendance and the majority of the present members agree.

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.
The ballot counting process continued for an hour as it was unclear whether the two votes were rejected or invalid. National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo judged that one was rejected and the other 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.
Prosecutors requested an arrest warrant on February 16 after allegations that Lee was involved in a land development project in Seongnam City and attracted corporate donations to Seongnam FC in exchange for administrative favors when he was the mayor of Seongnam in the past.

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.
It was an unexpected and shocking result for the Democratic Party, which expected a rejection of more than 170 votes. The Democratic Party holds 169 seats in the National Assembly, and the party leadership strongly opposed Lee’s arrest. As a result, the Democratic Party was convinced that there would be more lawmakers opposed to the arrest motion, even though the ruling party, the People’s Power, and the minority opposition, the Justice Party, said they would agree to Lee’s arrest.

February 28 front page article

Translation sjahn@koreatimes.co.kr

KEY WORDS
■ repercussion (an indirect, usually adverse, effect caused by an event)
■ escape avoid, evade
■ vote down
■ motion, initiative
■ wreak havoc on[초래하다]
■ factional fighting
■ weigh on to pressure, harass, (mentally) weigh on
■ abstention
■ consent consent; (emotion/opinion) agreement
■ incumbent incumbent, incumbent
■ drag on (too long)[계속되다]
■ seek an arrest warrant
■ dismissal; refusal, refusal

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