▲ Rep. Kang Sun-woo (L) and former Seoul city councilor Kim Kyung (Yonhap)

lawmaker-bribery scandal

Court to hold arrest warrant hearings for lawmaker, ex-councilor over bribery

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- A court is set to hold hearings Tuesday to decide whether to issue arrest warrants for an independent lawmaker, formerly of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and a former Seoul city councilor over bribery allegations linked to the 2022 local elections.

The Seoul Central District Court will convene the separate hearings for Rep. Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul city councilor Kim Kyung, a week after the National Assembly passed a motion for Kang's arrest.

Kang is accused of receiving 100 million won (US$68,800) in exchange for supporting Kim's nomination as a DP candidate for the Seoul city councilorship ahead of the 2022 elections.

Kang has claimed that she did not know the shopping bag Kim gave her at the time contained money, saying that she returned it after discovering the cash. The lawmaker has denied allegations that she used the money for a rental deposit.

By law, sitting lawmakers are immune from arrest while parliament is in session and can only be put under arrest with consent from the National Assembly. Prosecutors requested arrest warrants for the two early last month.

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