Democratic Party lawmaker Noh Woong-rae. Reporter Yoon Chang-won
A motion for the arrest of Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party has been submitted to the National Assembly. It’s still pushed by other issues, but from next week, reports will be pouring in a very big way. Before that, let’s easily release the concept from the news that we don’t know, and step by step look at the dilemma faced by the Democratic Party and CEO Lee Jae-myung.
What is the motion for arrest?
Members of Parliament have ‘non-arrest privilege’. It originated in England and is now recognized in most countries. It was created with the intention of preventing the government from abusing its power and unfairly arresting lawmakers. We want to protect the separation of powers. Korea has nailed the privilege of non-arrest into the Constitution.
| Article 44 of the Constitution |
| (1) Members of the National Assembly shall not be arrested or detained without the consent of the National Assembly during a session, except in the case of criminals in the act. |
If you look closely, the proviso ‘without the consent of the National Assembly’ is attached. In other words, on the contrary, it means that if the National Assembly agrees, it can be arrested. The procedure is laid down in the law.
| Article 26 of the National Assembly Act (procedure for requesting consent to arrest) |
| ① When seeking the consent of the National Assembly to arrest or detain a member of parliament, the judge of the competent court must submit a request for consent to the arrest to the government before issuing a warrant, and the government accepts it and attaches a copy without delay. Therefore, the consent of the arrest must be requested from the National Assembly. |
Normally, when the prosecution requests an arrest or arrest warrant, the court reviews it. However, when the suspect is a member of the National Assembly, it means to send the documents to the National Assembly before the warrant review to obtain consent. If the National Assembly does not agree, the investigative agency cannot arrest it until the end of the session.
In the case of Congressman Woong-Rae Noh, the government submitted the consent to the arrest to the National Assembly on the 14th. Whether or not the National Assembly agrees to this… This will be an issue in the future. If you agree, the warrant cannot be issued during the period set by the National Assembly for this December extraordinary session (December 10 to January 9 next year), that is, during the session.
300 million won in cash came out of the house?
This incident was first known regarding a month ago. It was November 16th. Breaking news that a search and seizure of the office of Rep. Woong-rae Noh suddenly flew in. Everyone was surprised by the unexpected news.
As it turned out, it was an incident derived from the so-called ‘Lee Jeong-geun List’. Prosecutors are investigating allegations that Lee Jung-geun, who served as the Democratic Party’s vice secretary-general, received money and other favors from a businessman named ‘Park Mo’. The prosecution had captured the circumstances in which Mr. Park also handed money to Congressman Noh Woong-rae.
On the 17th of last month, Rep. Noh Woong-rae of the Democratic Party is moving following a press conference at the National Assembly Communications Hall in Yeouido, Seoul to announce his position that he would “stake all my political life to prove my innocence” regarding the prosecution’s search and seizure. Reporter Yoon Chang-won
Afterwards, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Congressman Noh Woong-rae. They are accused of receiving a total of 60 million won from Mr. Park along with various solicitations for interests.
In this case, the point of particular attention is the so-called ‘300 million won mystery’. The story that “a large amount of cash was found at the house of Congressman Roh during the search and seizure” was first known as a report by our CBS legal team. It was later reported that the cash amounted to regarding 300 million won, and that some even had a Bank of Korea belt attached to them.
Representative Noh Woong-rae is in a position that it is unfair. In particular, he insists that most of the 300 million won in the house was only money for condolences. He visited the offices of fellow legislators and explained them. He even held a press conference and claimed, “80 million won was the money that came in at the funeral of my father-in-law, and 120 million won was the funeral of my father-in-law. Here, the celebration money that came in at the two publication commemorative events was mixed.”
This is a known fact up to this point.
A drifting arrest motion? I can’t put it off
Then what will happen next?
The National Assembly will have to make a decision soon. In order to pass the arrest motion, two separate plenary sessions must be held. After reporting that these documents have been received at the first plenary session, a vote is held at the second plenary session.
The first plenary session for the consent motion for the arrest of Congressman Woong-rae Noh is likely to be held sooner or later. If the National Assembly schedules a plenary session to vote on next year’s budget bill, it is sure to upload a report on the motion for arrest here as well.
In principle, the second plenary session for voting should be held between 24 and 72 hours therefollowing. The National Assembly Act sets the interval between the two plenary sessions as follows. The purpose is to prevent the National Assembly from wasting time.
| Article 26 of the National Assembly Act (procedure for requesting consent to arrest) |
| ② After receiving the request for consent to the arrest under Paragraph 1, the Speaker shall report it to the first plenary session, and vote on it within 72 hours following 24 hours from the time the report is reported to the plenary session. (short cut) |
Of course, the vote can be done following 72 hours. This is because the following provisions were inserted while amending the National Assembly Act on December 16, 2016.
| Article 26 of the National Assembly Act (procedure for requesting consent to arrest) |
| ② (The first part is omitted) However, if the consent motion for arrest is not voted on within 72 hours, it shall be submitted and voted on at the plenary session held for the first time therefollowing. |
Even so-called ‘Yeouido players’, such as members of the National Assembly or political reporters, may not be aware of this regulation. This is why the inaccurate press report that ‘we must vote within 72 hours’ continues until recently.
Anyway, so the National Assembly can open a separate plenary session to handle the case of Congressman Noh Woong-rae as a ‘one point’, or it can be postponed a little longer. Some observers say that they can vote together when dealing with a large number of pending issues such as the KEPCO Act at the year-end plenary session.
Democrats’ dilemma
yunhap news
The outcome is difficult to predict at this time. Voting is conducted anonymously. During the voting at the plenary session, almost all matters related to personnel are anonymous. It is not revealed who voted how.
The key is the vote of the Democratic legislators. Since the Democratic Party holds a majority of 169 seats, no matter how many other parties vote in favor, it is difficult to pass the motion for arrest if they are united and opposed.
The decisions that can be made now at the party level can be summarized in three ways. ① In favor of the party argument ② Opposition to the party argument ③ Self-voting. One of these is honestly hard to imagine. Because the colleague who ate a bowl of rice is denying the charges. Then 2 or 3 times… You will be torn between them.
It is not easy to oppose the party argument now. For now, it is obvious that they will use the stigma of ‘Bangtan National Assembly’. Somehow, even though the party was decided, if the breakaway vote came out and the vote was passed, the shape would be greatly lost. I’ll tell you once more later, but a motion for the arrest of CEO Lee Jae-myung may come up in the future… The breakaway vote now can make the party more difficult then.
Because of this, the Democratic Party is in an atmosphere of autonomous voting, that is, to entrust lawmakers with voting for their convictions. No specific policy has been set yet.
Will collective fear lead to the ‘Bangtan National Assembly’?
We looked at the airflow through individual members of the Democratic Party. It is said that it is not yet in the state of discussing this specifically and sufficiently among lawmakers.
First of all, it was an atmosphere where everyone was in a long line regarding the facts. There were also quite a few cases where people doubted that ‘Rep. Woong-rae Noh really received illegal funds’.
But for now, it seems more likely that the arrest motion will be rejected.
Consistency with the motion for the arrest of CEO Lee Jae-myeong, which will be met in the future, etc… There may be many reasons, but the most impressive background while listening was ‘collective fear’.
It is Yeouido orthodox opinion that the ‘Lee Jung-geun list’ is actually an investigation aimed at former President Roh Young-min, chief of staff, but the Democratic Party pays attention to the fact that Congressman Noh Woong-rae popped out of nowhere. If these irregular bounds continue, one day the hilt may point toward you. It is said that they are under the anxiety that “If I abandon Congressman Woong-rae Noh this time and later stand in that position, I may not be protected as well (Rep. Mo Cho-seon)”.
‘a. Aren’t you doing this because you’re being stabbed?’ I asked the same questions to multiple members, but the answers that came back were consistent. “Isn’t it the prosecution to create something that does not exist?” There is also an interpretation from the inside that there is a kind of victim consciousness stemming from the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun.
Big one coming soon
This passage appears in the ‘Commentary on the National Assembly Act’ published by the National Assembly Secretariat.
“There is also a view that the decision to agree should be made considering the political significance of whether arresting lawmakers during sessions would seriously interfere with the normal operation of the National Assembly.” It is to introduce the claim that this system is necessary to prevent it.
On the other hand, the public perception of non-arrest privilege is not so good.
It is pointed out that ordinary people are often caught, and members of the National Assembly protect each other even if they commit serious corruption. Perhaps conscious of the stinging glare, most of the arrest motions recently in the National Assembly were passed. There are also claims to get rid of this altogether.
However, the consent motion for the arrest of Congressman Woong-rae Noh is regarded as a kind of rehearsal rather than its own meaning in the political world. In fact, Congressman Roh belongs to the minority of the party and his influence is relatively insignificant, but the person who is considered the next subject of the motion for arrest is the party’s supreme leader.
Daejang-dong, Seongnam FC, and the prosecution, who are aiming at the suspicion of paying attorney fees, do not know when they will issue a warrant for CEO Lee Jae-myung. So today’s news can be a prelude to a war, a skirmish, or a trailer.