By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The governing Grand National Party (GNP) will again seek parliamentary approval of a motion to arrest two opposition party lawmakers charged with bribery and election law violations, a top GNP official said Monday.
GNP floor leader Hong Joon-pyo said in an interview that his party would seek to lay the motion before the National Assembly again.
Last week, the prosecution sought arrest warrants for Reps. Kim Jae-yun of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) and Moon Kook-hyun of the Renewal of Korea Party (ROKP) who have refused to answer summons for questioning.
``Under the law, the motion to arrest lawmakers, unlike those to oust Cabinet ministers or impeach the President, does not have the 72-hour deadline to be voted on,'' Hong said. ``It's pending at the Assembly and can be laid before the Assembly any time.''
The Assembly failed to act on the motion before Monday. It was submitted to the legislature Friday.
Hong stressed that the immunity from arrest given to lawmakers does not mean they are allowed to commit crimes.
Legislators enjoy the privilege of exemption from arrest when the Assembly is in session unless they are caught at the scene or have committed a grievous crime.
By early December when the current Assembly session ends, prosecutors can seek an arrest warrant without consent from the parliament.
Regarding Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o's remarks Thursday that he opposed the arrests, Hong responded that he is not in a position to comment on the motion.
``What he can do as speaker is whether or not to unilaterally lay the motion without agreement from opposition parties,'' the GNP official said. ``His remarks could invite misunderstanding that he seemed to order the administration to investigate the two lawmakers without physical restraint.''
The speaker, a former GNP lawmaker, said, ``Since the Assembly session is underway, it is inappropriate for prosecutors to seek arrest warrants against the lawmakers.''
Moon allegedly received cash from fellow lawmaker Lee Han-jung in return for giving him his party's ticket to run in the April 9 Assembly elections under the proportional representation system.
DP lawmaker Kim, on the other hand, received 300 million won for helping a foreign profit-seeking hospital get a permit to establish a medical facility on Jeju Island, a prosecutor said.
Both have denied the allegations.