Prosecutors to Summon Lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok Soon... Kang Rae-gu Also to Be Indicted Shortly

The prosecution investigating the Democratic Party of Korea's '2021 Party Convention Money Envelope Suspicion' is set to summon independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok for questioning soon. This will be the second investigation of a sitting lawmaker following the questioning of independent lawmaker Lee Sung-man on the 19th. Accordingly, legal circles analyze that the prosecution's investigation is closing in on former party leader Song Young-gil, who has been identified as the 'apex' of the suspicion.

Yoon Kwan-seok, a member of the Democratic Party who expressed his intention to leave the party amid allegations of '2021 party convention money envelopes,' is attending a members' meeting held at the National Assembly on the 3rd. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

According to legal circles on the 22nd, the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Young-chul) plans to summon lawmaker Yoon as a suspect on charges including violation of the Political Parties Act to investigate the specific process of funding procurement and delivery, as well as the recipients. Unlike lawmaker Lee, who appeared publicly, Yoon is expected to appear privately. Yoon's side is coordinating the investigation schedule with the prosecution.

Lawmaker Yoon is suspected of conspiring with former Korea Water Resources Corporation Standing Auditor Kang Rae-gu and others to distribute a total of 94 million won to lawmakers and others to secure former leader Song's election at the party convention held from March to May 2021.

The prosecution stated in the search warrant that in April 2021, lawmaker Yoon instructed that "it is necessary to distribute money to maintain existing support," leading former auditor Kang to raise 60 million won, which was divided into 3 million won portions and delivered to 10 to 20 lawmakers of the same party. Kang, who is under intense investigation after being detained, is expected to be indicted within this week. Kang reportedly pointed to lawmaker Yoon as the person responsible for the money envelopes distributed to lawmakers, claiming ignorance about the envelopes during recent prosecution questioning.

Inside and outside legal circles expect that after investigating lawmaker Yoon, the prosecution will request an arrest warrant considering the gravity of the case.

If an arrest warrant is requested for a sitting lawmaker during a parliamentary session, consent from the National Assembly is required for the pre-trial detention hearing. Therefore, if the prosecution requests the warrant, the consent motion may be reported at the plenary session scheduled for the 25th.

The 'Lee Jung-geun recording' secured by the prosecution reportedly contains several parts that suggest lawmaker Yoon's involvement.

Once Yoon's investigation is completed, the next step is expected to be the questioning of former leader Song Young-gil, who has been identified as the biggest beneficiary of the money envelope suspicion.

Former leader Song denies the charges, stating, "As a candidate, I was running around the country every 30 minutes," but the prosecution suspects that there may have been directives or tacit approval from Song based on recordings and testimonies from related parties.

The prosecution is also investigating the possibility that additional funds were distributed through Song's external support organization, the 'Peace and Livelihood Issues Research Institute' (Meoksa-yeon), beyond the 94 million won.