Incumbent lawmaker put behind bars over alleged bribery

By Lee Kyung-min

Rep. Park Ki-choon

Rep. Park Ki-choon, a former member of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD), was arrested late on Tuesday on allegations of accepting bribes.

The Seoul Central District Court issued the warrant, saying the politician is highly likely to destroy evidence related to the case.

Park’s arrest comes after the National Assembly voted 137-89 in favor of consenting to his arrest on Aug. 13. The assembly is required to give consent for any incumbent lawmaker to be arrested while it is in session.

He becomes the fifth incumbent lawmaker to be arrested or jailed in the current 19th National Assembly.

The four other lawmakers are: Park Sang-eun and Cho Hyun-ryong from the ruling Saenuri Party; Kim Jae-yun from the NPAD, and Lee Seok-ki of the now disbanded United Progressive Party.

Park had been under investigation for allegations that he received cash and valuables worth 358 million won from a man, surnamed Kim, who heads an apartment sales agency, in return for providing political favors for his business. The valuables included seven high-end wristwatches, two luxury designer bags and a massage chair.

In an earlier probe, prosecutors found that Park had returned the money, watches, and bags that implicated him to Kim through one of his aides. The aide also asked Kim to remove Park's fingerprints from the goods, according to the prosecutors.

The prosecution believes the bribes were in exchange for helping Kim's business, as Park was a member of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure & Transport Committee since 2013, which oversees the entire construction industry.

Since the investigation began, Park admitted to accepting money from Kim, but denied the allegation he used his influence as an assembly member in return. He also denied that he attempted to hide evidence.

After the assembly’s decision, Park left the main opposition party last week.