Why Did Song Young-gil Voluntarily Appear Before the Prosecution Again?

National Assembly to Vote on Arrest Warrants for Yoon Gwan-seok and Lee Seong-man on the 12th
Possibility of 'Rejection Appeal' to Lawmakers Through Public Opinion Campaign

Former leader of the Democratic Party Song Young-gil's voluntary appearance without an official summons from the prosecution is being analyzed as a political move aimed at swaying public opinion. Song appeared at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office on the 7th. He is the subject of allegations regarding the distribution of cash envelopes during the 2021 Democratic Party convention.

Previously, Song also voluntarily appeared before the prosecution on the 2nd of last month but turned back. The prosecution viewed Song's appearance, which was unrelated to their scheduled investigation, with discomfort. No investigation took place this time either. Song continued to drive the issue by staging a one-person protest in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office building.

He succeeded in drawing public attention. However, there are various interpretations as to why a senior politician who once led the Democratic Party would take such actions. The focus is on the background of staging an event to concentrate public interest in a situation where prosecution investigation is expected not to proceed.

Former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil, who is under suspicion of money envelope allegations related to the party convention, is holding a solo protest after leaving the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul, on the 7th without being questioned. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Song's second voluntary appearance is interpreted as an attempt to repeatedly emphasize his innocence and the unfairness of the prosecution's investigation. During his first voluntary appearance, Song claimed that the investigation into the cash envelope allegations was political persecution and a politically motivated probe by the opposition party.

With the vote on the arrest warrants for key suspects in this case, lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Sung-man, scheduled for the 12th, it appears Song also intends to appeal to Democratic Party lawmakers to reject the warrants. Both Yoon and Lee left the Democratic Party after the allegations surfaced.

The prosecution requested arrest warrants for Yoon and Lee on charges of distributing cash envelopes to secure Song's election ahead of the party convention, and the arrest warrant motions were reported to the National Assembly plenary session on the 30th of last month. The Democratic Party is known to have decided on a free vote policy without setting a party line for the vote on the 12th.

Although the Democratic Party, holding a majority in the National Assembly, can reject the motion alone, the possibility of approval due to dissenting votes cannot be ruled out. Previously, the arrest warrant motion against Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was ultimately rejected, but at least 31 dissenting votes emerged within the party.

Meanwhile, there were critical views within the party regarding Song's appearance before the prosecution. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min said in a KBS radio interview, "The investigative agency says they are not ready to investigate, but repeatedly saying 'Keep investigating me,' 'Arrest me,' in terms of common sense among the public, seems like a show."