Seoul: A court is set to hold a hearing Tuesday on whether to issue a warrant to arrest Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition People Power Party over bribery allegations.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the Seoul Central District Court will hold the hearing at 2 p.m. after special counsel Min Joong-ki requested the warrant against Kweon for allegedly receiving 100 million won (US$72,000) in illegal political funds from a former Unification Church official in January 2022.
Kweon, once seen as a close confidant of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, is accused of violating the Political Funds Act for allegedly receiving the fund, while being asked to support the church if Yoon won the presidential election in March 2022, which he did. He is also accused of receiving shopping bags full of cash from Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja between February and March 2022, as well as informing the church of a police investigation into Han.
The hearing comes after the National Assembly approved a motion to arrest Kweon on Thursday. By law, sitting lawmakers are immune from arrest while parliament is in session and can only be put under arrest with consent from the National Assembly.
Kweon has denied all the allegations raised against him, dismissing them as "false" in remarks ahead of the parliamentary vote for his arrest. Min's team has been investigating bribery allegations surrounding the Unification Church as part of its corruption investigation into former first lady Kim Keon Hee, Yoon's wife.