The court announced that it delivered the request for the arrest consent of Kweon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, to Kim Keon-hee, the special prosecutor, around 1:20 p.m. on the 29th.
Earlier, the special prosecutor requested an arrest warrant for Kweon on charges of violating the Political Funds Act the previous day.
Members of the National Assembly have immunity from arrest, so the court must obtain consent from the National Assembly to decide whether to issue an arrest warrant. First, the presiding judge submits the request for arrest consent to the government. After that, this request is sent through the Ministry of Justice and submitted to the National Assembly after being approved by the president.
After receiving the request, the Speaker of the National Assembly reports the arrest consent bill to the first session convened and must hold a vote within 72 hours after 24 hours. The arrest consent bill is passed with a majority of the members present and a majority of the votes in favor.
Kweon stated on his Facebook the previous day that he would relinquish his immunity from arrest. He noted, "The special prosecutor hastily requested an arrest warrant without adequate review of materials or cross-examination, calling it an 'unjust political target investigation.'" He added, "I will not hide behind my immunity from arrest and will voluntarily give it up, just as I have done in the past."
Although Kweon has expressed his intention to relinquish his immunity from arrest, the process for consent to arrest current members of the National Assembly is expected to proceed as planned.
Meanwhile, the special prosecutor believes that Kweon received illegal political funds from a former official of the Unification Church in connection with the allegations of solicitation. Previously, the special prosecutor had arrested and indicted Yoon Young-ho, the former head of the Unification Church's headquarters, who was said to have directly handed Kweon 100 million won in cash on charges of violating the Political Funds Act on the 18th.
Additionally, allegations have arisen that Jeon Seong-bae of the Geun-jin Seongsa and Yoon, the former head, attempted to recruit many members of the Unification Church to make Kweon the party leader before the People Power Party convention in January 2023.