Justice Ministry Submits Request to National Assembly for Arrest Consent for Kang Sunwoo over 100 Million Won Nomination Kickbacks

National Assembly Must Report Motion at First Plenary Session After Receipt
Vote Required Between 24 and 72 Hours After Report

The Ministry of Justice announced on the 12th that it had submitted a motion to the National Assembly requesting consent to arrest independent lawmaker Kang Sunwoo, for whom an arrest warrant was sought on charges of receiving 100 million won in nomination bribes.

Yonhap News Agency

In order to hold a pre-arrest interrogation (substantive warrant review) for a sitting lawmaker, the process of handling an arrest consent motion in the National Assembly must be completed. Under the National Assembly Act, after receiving the motion to arrest from the Ministry of Justice, the Speaker of the National Assembly must report it at the first plenary session convened thereafter and put it to a vote between 24 and 72 hours after the report. If the deadline passes, it must be placed on the agenda and voted on at the next plenary session convened thereafter.

Earlier, prosecutors requested arrest warrants for Representative Kang and former Seoul City Council member Kim Kyung on charges including violations of the Political Funds Act and breach of trust and bribery. Kang and former city council member Kim are accused of giving and receiving 100 million won in January 2022 at a hotel in Yongsan, ahead of the local elections, in exchange for a nomination.

This is the fourth time in the 22nd National Assembly that an arrest warrant has been sought for a lawmaker. Previously, motions to arrest People Power Party lawmakers Kweon Seongdong and Choo Kyungho, and Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Shin Youngdae, were submitted to the National Assembly. The arrest consent motions for Representative Kweon, who was accused of receiving illegal political funds from the Unification Church, and Representative Choo, who was accused of obstructing the vote to lift martial law, were passed by the National Assembly. The motion to arrest Representative Shin, who faces charges of taking bribes and manipulating public opinion in the party primary for the general election, was voted down.