Seoul: A special counsel team on Thursday filed for an arrest warrant for Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) over his alleged violation of the political fund law. Special counsel Min Joong-ki's team filed the request for Kweon, nearly a day after he was questioned as a suspect on charges of having received 100 million won (US$72,000) in illegal political funds from a former official of the Unification Church, surnamed Yun, in 2022.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the special counsel team is also investigating an allegation that Kweon had received a shopping bag containing cash from Unification Church leader Han Hak-ja. Additionally, the team is looking into suspicions that Yun and a shaman close to former first lady Kim Keon Hee recruited a large number of Unification Church members to support Kweon in the PPP leadership election in March 2023.
Kweon is known to have squarely denied all charges against him. Upon appearing before the special counsel for questioning Wednesday, Kweon told reporters he was "innocent" of all allegations raised against him. In a Facebook post, Kweon claimed the investigation was politically motivated but said he will still give up his right to immunity from arrest as a lawmaker.
"It is definitely an unjust, politically motivated investigation," Kweon said. "But I will not hide behind the parliamentary immunity from arrest," he added, noting he had given up the same right in the past. 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. But the privilege came under criticism that it is abused to protect corrupt politicians.
According to the National Assembly Act, lawmakers are mandated to vote on the lifting of immunity from arrest within 72 hours of the submission to the parliamentary plenary session. The vote can begin 24 hours after the submission. Kweon, a five-term lawmaker who previously served as the PPP's floor leader until June, had waived his immunity when the prosecution sought an arrest warrant for him over alleged unfair hiring of workers at a state-run casino operator in 2018.