Prosecutors Fail to Arrest Opposition Party Leader Again
By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Prosecutors armed with a warrant failed to arrest Kim Min-seok, a member of the decision-making Supreme Council of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), due to physical resistance by party staff, Thursday.
This is the second time the prosecution has been unable to exercise the arrest warrant following an attempt Sunday.
A Seoul court issued the arrest warrant last Friday on charges that Kim accepted illegal funds.
Fifteen investigators arrived at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, without prior notification around 8 a.m. but hundreds of party staff stopped them from entering the building, where Kim has been staging a sit-in for nearly 20 days with party members standing guard.
The tug-of-war between the two sides, which continued for about 90 minutes, ended with the retreat of the investigators. Some clashes occurred but no injury was reported, police said.
The prosecution is considering mobilizing riot police to forcibly enter the building and apprehend party staff for preventing Kim's arrest.
``Some people say those obstructing the arrest should be punished. And such calls will gain momentum following the second failure,'' said a prosecutor.
Kim is alleged to have received 470 million won ($316,000) in illegal political funds from two businessmen ahead of the April general elections, in which he ran unsuccessfully.
He admitted that he had taken the money but insisted that it was just aid from his acquaintances with no strings attached.
The DP has claimed the bribery scandal was a politically motivated move to squash opposition politicians. Spokesman Choi Jae-sung said the Lee Myung-bak administration was mobilizing prosecutors to suppress the opposition party. ``We will resist the summons,'' he said.
Last month, three opposition parties ㅡ the DP, Democratic Labor Party (DLP) and Renewal of Korea Party (ROKP) ㅡ jointly vowed to fight what they call political suppression of the opposition by the government and the ruling Grand National Party, after the prosecution launched an investigation into Kim and DLP Chairman Kang Ki-kab for alleged violations of the Election Law.