Approval with 160 votes in favor and 99 against
Joo Ho-young: "Party resolution to give up immunity from arrest"
Democratic Party contrasts with Lee Jae-myung and Roh Woong-rae's voting
The arrest motion against Rep. Ha Young-je of the People Power Party, which attracted attention as the first vote held after the rejection of the arrest motions against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Rep. Roh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party, passed the National Assembly on the 30th. The ruling and opposition parties exchanged conflicting interpretations and engaged in a war of nerves over the voting results.
On the afternoon of the same day, the National Assembly held a plenary session and put the arrest motion against Rep. Ha to a secret ballot. Out of 281 members present, 160 voted in favor, 99 against, and 22 abstained, resulting in the motion's passage. Rep. Ha is accused of violating the Political Funds Act, among other charges, for receiving funds in exchange for helping a preliminary candidate for the Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly before the local elections in June.
It is estimated that at least 50 of the votes in favor came from the opposition party. The People Power Party holds 115 seats, so even if all ruling party members voted in favor, passing the motion alone would be difficult. It is known that about eight members of the People Power Party, excluding three cabinet members, were absent from the plenary session that day.
Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at a party meeting held before the vote, "We have repeatedly declared that we will effectively give up the parliamentary privilege of immunity from arrest, one of the privileges of lawmakers, so please consider that giving up this privilege is essentially the party's stance." He added, "Please keep in mind that if the number of votes in favor is less than the number of our party members, the backlash we will have to bear could be significant, and vote accordingly." Although no official party stance was set, he urged that the arrest motion against Rep. Ha should be approved. Earlier, more than half of the current members, including Floor Leader Joo, signed a pledge to give up immunity from arrest.
However, since the arrest motion was decided by a secret ballot, there is a possibility of dissenting votes within the People Power Party. It is reported that Rep. Ha made phone calls to fellow lawmakers before the vote, appealing for votes against the motion. Because of this, the Democratic Party accused the People Power Party of outwardly giving up immunity from arrest but secretly trying to protect Rep. Ha through the secret ballot. Oh Young-hwan, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, said to reporters after the vote, "Since it was a secret ballot, it is practically impossible to analyze the voting results. It appears that a considerable number of sympathy votes and dissenting votes occurred due to Rep. Ha’s personal statements, individual appeals, and contacts. This is a typical double play by People Power Party lawmakers."
However, the dissenting votes from the People Power Party, given that more than 50 Democratic Party lawmakers voted in favor, make it difficult to avoid criticism that the party is defending a political offender. Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, said, "At the very least, a party with conscience should immediately correct the wrongful actions of Lee, who continues to use the National Assembly as a shield amid what is said to be the largest corruption scandal since the founding of Korea." Yoo Sang-beom, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, also said in a statement that day, "In the past, Lee Jae-myung repeatedly promised to give up immunity from arrest, but the current Lee is hiding behind this privilege. Since there are still numerous allegations against him that have not yet led to indictment, another arrest motion will come to the National Assembly. Will he enjoy immunity from arrest again then?"
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