Prosecutors summon MDP lawmaker

The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office yesterday summoned Lee Hoon-pyung, a ruling Millennium Democratic Party lawmaker suspected of receiving bribes from the Hyundai Group, for questioning, and said several more politicians apparently received Hyundai money too.
The prosecution said the money Mr. Lee allegedly received was not related to the money Kwon Roh-kap, a former supreme council member of the ruling party, allegedly received from Hyundai and is said to have given to colleagues in the party. Mr. Kwon has been detained.
The prosecution said about four other incumbent National Assembly lawmakers also appear to have received bribes from Hyundai. It said they will be summoned for questioning soon. Analysts said they will be summoned by the end of this week, since the National Assembly’s hearings on state affairs begin Monday and prosecutors want to investigate them before those hearings begin.
Even when prosecutors have strong evidence that incumbent lawmakers are involved with crimes, arresting and detaining them during Assembly sessions is not an easy task. To arrest an incumbent lawmaker, the prosecution has to request a detention warrant from a court, and the court then has to send a letter to the justice ministry seeking permission to grant the request. If the letter is approved by the ministry, then it has to be sent to a session of the National Assembly where more than half of all registered lawmakers are present, and the majority of them then have to approve the detention bill for it to pass.

by Kang Joo-an