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| Lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) pledge to renounce their right to immunity from arrest in a press conference held at the National Assembly, Thursday, Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Over 50 ruling People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers have pledged to renounce their right to immunity from arrest, in an apparent move to pressure the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and its leader Rep. Lee Jae-myung.
On Thursday, 51 PPP lawmakers out of its total 119 members, pledged that they will give up their immunity rights. The announcement came a day after the Ministry of Justice asked for parliamentary consent to arrest Rep. Ha Young-je, a PPP member, who is facing corruption charges.
Under the Constitution, during an ongoing session, an incumbent lawmaker is immune from being arrested or detained without the consent of the Assembly ― unless he or she is caught in the act of committing a crime. Parliamentary consent requires a majority vote with a majority of lawmakers present at the plenary session.
The arrest motion for Ha is expected to be put to a vote in a plenary session on March 30.
The PPP lawmakers, who gave up their rights for immunity from arrest, are highly likely to vote for the approval of the arrest warrant of their fellow lawmaker. The calculated move is aimed at cornering the DPK members who are caught in a dilemma.
The DPK lawmakers have been making efforts to protect their leader, who is facing corruption charges, from being arrested. In a parliamentary vote in February, a majority of the opposition lawmakers voted against Lee's arrest motion. Their collective move drew criticisms from the PPP.
Against this backdrop, DPK lawmakers, who voted in favor of the arrest motion for Ha will look hypocritical considering that they have been defending their leader, who is also facing corruption charges.
However, voting against the arrest motion would spark public criticism for siding with a lawmaker who is accused of corruption.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the prosecutors indicted Lee on charges of corruption involving a high-profile land development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province which took place when he was the city mayor. The lawmaker also allegedly asked corporations to donate money to the city-affiliated Seongnam Football Club in return for administrative favors.
The DPK's leadership has concluded that the indictment is a "political persecution of the government on the opposition bloc," and thus allowed Lee to retain his leadership.
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