▲ Democratic Party Chairman Lee Jae-myung is surrounded by reporters as he heads to the main hall of the National Assembly building in Seoul on Feb. 27, 2023, ahead of a vote on a motion seeking parliamentary consent to his arrest over corruption charges. (Yonhap)
▲ Rep. Lee Jae-myung (bottom), head of the main opposition Democratic Party, asserts the injustice of the prosecution's request for parliamentary consent on his arrest on a series of corruption charges during a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 27, 2023, prior to a parliamentary vote on a bill regarding the matter. (Yonhap)

(2nd LD) opposition leader-arrest motion

(2nd LD) National Assembly votes narrowly to reject motion for opposition leader's arrest

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with outcome of vote; CHANGES headline, photos)

By Lee Haye-ah and Lee Minji

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly on Monday voted narrowly to reject the government's request for consent to arrest opposition leader Lee Jae-myung over corruption charges.

The motion was voted down 139-138 with nine abstentions and 11 deemed invalid.

The result, though in line with widespread views that Lee's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) would use its majority power to reject the request, came as a surprise as it means some DP lawmakers cast dissenting votes for Lee's arrest.

The DP, which holds 169 seats in the 299-member National Assembly, has denounced the prosecution's attempt to arrest Lee as political revenge by President Yoon Suk Yeol against his presidential election rival.

By law, parliamentary consent is necessary to arrest a lawmaker while parliament is in session.

Prosecutors had earlier sought an arrest warrant for Lee over development corruption and bribery allegations arising from his time as the mayor of Seongnam, south of Seoul, from 2010-18. It marked the first time that an arrest warrant was sought for the head of the country's largest opposition party.

Lee has claimed his innocence, rejecting all allegations against him as fabrication.

The ruling People Power Party has urged Lee to give up his immunity from arrest and show up for a court hearing on the arrest warrant. It has criticized the DP for opening temporary parliamentary sessions to protect its leader from arrest.

Prosecutors are widely expected to indict the opposition leader without detention, as parliament's rejection of the motion will lead to the automatic dismissal of the prosecution's arrest warrant request against him.

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