Kim Nam-guk "Arrest Consent Bill Likely to Be Rejected... Waiving Immunity from Arrest Impossible"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Nam-guk, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that the prosecution's investigation into Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader who recently had an arrest warrant issued for embezzlement and breach of trust related to the Daejang-dong case, is not objective, and that the atmosphere within the Democratic Party regarding the consent to his arrest is 'rejection.' While some mention the possibility of Lee undergoing a substantive review, he emphasized that the privilege against arrest is not a right that an individual can voluntarily waive as they please.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending an emergency Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th. On the same day, the prosecution filed an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, in connection with allegations of preferential treatment in the development of Wirye New Town and Daejang-dong, as well as suspicions regarding donations to Seongnam FC. This is the first time in constitutional history that an arrest warrant has been filed against the leader of the main opposition party. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 17th, on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs,' Rep. Kim said, "As a legal expert, my assessment is that the privilege against arrest granted to members of the National Assembly by the Constitution is not a right that an individual can waive or exercise at will."

He added, "Therefore, even if I want to waive it and go to the court, the court does not conduct a substantive review of the warrant. According to the National Assembly Act, before the court issues an arrest or detention warrant, it must send a request for consent to arrest to the National Assembly and can only conduct a substantive review of the warrant based on the outcome of that process," pointing out procedural issues. The consent to arrest is a procedure stipulated by the National Assembly Act.

When asked about the Democratic Party's response, Rep. Kim said, "Although there hasn't been a discussion at a party meeting or similar forum, there are various atmospheres in small groups here and there," and "From what I've heard, the current prosecution investigation lacks legitimacy and is an excessive political investigation. Looking at the charges and their contents, there is no evidence to prove them, and it appears that the prosecution intends to indict based on arbitrary evaluations. Overall, I expect that most will lean toward rejecting the consent."

He pointed out that in this arrest warrant, the prosecution reduced the amount recovered from the Daejang-dong project while increasing the amount of breach of trust. Rep. Kim said, "In the past, during the Daejang-dong project, it was claimed that 550 billion KRW was recovered, and Lee ran for governor on that basis. However, he was prosecuted and tried for false statement of facts. Despite a Supreme Court ruling affirming that it 'corresponds to the facts,' the arrest warrant omitted all of that and only recorded that 180 billion KRW was recovered as confirmed profit through the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation."