Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party, the first sitting lawmaker to be detained by an independent counsel, said on the 17th, "Political repression by the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party of Korea has begun in earnest," and calmly urged, "I hope our party will overcome this well with unity and determination."
Nam Se-jin, a Director General judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, late the previous night issued an arrest warrant for Kweon, saying there was a concern about the destruction of evidence. It is the first detention among sitting lawmakers under investigation by the three independent counsels and the first since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration.
Immediately after the warrant was issued, Kweon wrote on Facebook, "An investigation is a process of uncovering the substantive truth of a case. But this independent counsel's investigation is creating a fictional case," noting, "They are writing a novel, not conducting an investigation. That is how they ended up detaining a sitting lawmaker based solely on the meager testimony of a provider."
He went on to criticize, "The court that granted the warrant also succumbed to the Democratic Party," adding, "It lay down like a weak blade of grass in the face of a relentless and brutish attempt to tame the judiciary. It is, in a word, 'pungdong (wind movement).'"
He emphasized, "Now the Democratic Party will swarm toward the People Power Party like a school of sharks that has smelled blood," adding, "But no matter how much they oppress me, I will surely reveal the truth and win acquittal. Just as the Moon Jae-in administration could not bring me down, the Lee Jae-myung administration will not bring me down either."
He also left a message for citizens of Gangneung, his constituency. He said, "I am sorry I cannot be by your side even in this difficult time due to an unprecedented drought," adding, "Before long, I will return to your side with the truth."
Earlier, the "Kim Keon-hee independent counsel team" (Special Prosecutor Min Jung-ki) sought a pretrial detention warrant on the 28th of last month on suspicion that on Jan. 5, 2022, Kweon received 100 million won in illegal political funds from Yoon Young-ho, former head of the Unification Church World Headquarters. The warrant hearing was set after the National Assembly passed a motion to arrest Kweon at a plenary session on the 11th.