President Yoon approves motion for opposition leader’s arrest

President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the motion to arrest the Democratic Party of Korea's leader and his former presidential opponent, Lee Jae-myung. Lee’s fate -- whether he will become the first prominent opposition leader to be arrested -- will be decided by an anonymous vote of lawmakers on Monday.

“The motion for Lee’s arrest was received yesterday (Feb. 20) and approved by the president,” the presidential office said in a written statement early in the morning. “It will be sent to the National Assembly.” The statement was submitted through the Supreme Prosecutors Office and the Justice Ministry.

The day before, when asked whether Yoon had approved the motion, a senior presidential official said on condition of anonymity it was “just a simple administrative procedure” and added, “It should be followed by the procedure.”

On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court issued an arrest warrant for Lee on corruption and bribery charges, accusing the former Seongnam mayor of having received millions of dollars from companies in the form of sponsorships to the Seongnam Football Club in return for favorable treatment in property development in return.

Shortly after the statement from the presidential office in the morning, the Justice Ministry said it submitted a request for consent to the National Assembly.

The motion for the arrest of Lee will be reported to the plenary session of the National Assembly on Friday, and to a vote on Monday. It will pass if a simple majority of lawmakers agree to the arrest.

Although the Democratic Party holds 169 out of the total 299 seats, it is still difficult to rule out the possibility that the motion could be passed because the votes will be anonymous. If more than 28 votes from the Democratic Party are against Lee, the arrest motion for him would likely be approved.

Ahead of the vote, the ruling People Power Party has repeatedly pressed the Democratic Party and Lee to give up or waive immunity from arrest. Under the current law, a lawmaker is not arrested or detained without the consent of the National Assembly unless they are caught in the act.

Chung Jin-suk, interim head of the ruling party, said on Monday that Lee should pay the price he deserves, adding, “Even without Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party will not perish.”

The minor left-wing Justice Party also joined the criticism. Party leader Lee Jeong-mi said that even if Lee is arrested, there is a process of up to three trials. “It is time to give up the privilege of not being arrested.”

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party slammed both the prosecution and the ruling party. Floor Leader Park Hong-geun said Yoon’s "bodyguards," which had taken control of the prosecution, and the minister of justice had "joined forces" to attack the opposition party.