Court questions lawmaker over money-for-nomination scandal

A lawmaker accused of paying for her party's nomination ahead of April's parliamentary elections appeared for questioning at a court Friday, the last step to determine whether she will be arrested for her suspected bribery.

Rep. Hyun Young-hee, now an independent after recently being expelled from the ruling Saenuri Party, is accused of giving 300 million won (US$264,100) to members of the party's nomination committee ahead of the April elections in exchange for securing a proportional representative ticket.

Prosecutors suspect she delivered the money through Cho Ki-moon, a former party official based in the southeastern city of Busan, but both have denied that allegation.

Hyun insists she gave 5 million won to Cho to cover his expenses while he helped her with her campaign, and received it back several days later. Cho, meanwhile, has claimed he accepted 50 million won from the lawmaker and spent it.

After questioning Hyun, the Busan District Court is expected to decide late Friday whether to issue a warrant for her arrest.

With Hyun under arrest, prosecutors said they expect to be able to investigate whether the money was delivered to Hyun Ki-hwan, a former Saenuri lawmaker who served as a member of the nomination committee ahead of April's elections.

The court's summons came a day after the National Assembly voted in favor of Rep. Hyun's arrest by a large margin.

Under Korean law, prosecutors are required to seek the Assembly's approval in order to arrest a lawmaker while the parliament is in session. (Yonhap)