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

(LEAD) lawmaker-bribery scandal

(LEAD) Ex-councilor appears for arrest warrant hearing over bribery allegations

(ATTN: UPDATES with Kim's hearing throughout; CHANGES headline, lead para)

SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- A former Seoul city councilor appeared Tuesday for an arrest warrant hearing in connection with a bribery scandal involving an independent lawmaker formerly of the ruling Democratic Party (DP).

Kim Kyung arrived at the Seoul Central District Court after prosecutors requested a warrant for her arrest last month for allegedly handing over 100 million won (US$68,800) to Rep. Kang Sun-woo ahead of the 2022 local elections.

Kim is accused of violating the Political Funds Act and other offenses for allegedly delivering the cash in exchange for Kang's support for her nomination as a DP candidate for a Seoul city councillorship at the time.

The former councilor has admitted to delivering the money in a statement submitted to investigators.

Kang has claimed that she did not know the shopping bag Kim gave her at the time contained cash, adding that she returned the money after discovering it three months later.

The court will hold a separate hearing later in the day on whether to issue an arrest warrant for Kang after the National Assembly approved a motion for her arrest last Tuesday.

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.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]