Disgraced Lawmaker-elect’s Mother Faces Arrest

The Seoul District Prosecutors` Office sought an arrest warrant on Thursday for Kim Soon-ae, the mother of Yang Jeong-rye, the disgraced lawmaker-elect of the Pro-Park Alliance, on charges of breaching election laws.

Prosecutors said that Kim violated Section 2 of Article 47 that stipulates that any one must not receive or provide money, valuables or a financial benefit in relation to political parties` selection of candidates. The clause was added this February, when the election law was amended.

Kim is the first person that prosecutors have sought an arrest warrant for under the revised law. The Seoul Central District Court will hold a hearing to decide whether to issue the warrant at 3 p.m. on Friday.

Prosecutors noted down in their written request for the warrant that although Kim played a leading role in the process of handing over a bribe to the party in return for a proportional representative seat in the National Assembly, Yang, 31, is an “accomplice” as she was aware of the money-for-candidacy scheme.

Yang will lose her seat if she is indicted as an accomplice and sentenced to a fine over 1 million won or a prison term.

Yang allegedly offered the party a total of 1.7 billion won on four occasions in the name of the special party membership fee and the loan in exchange for being nominated as the party’s top candidate for proportional representation seats, according to prosecutors. “All circumstances indicate that the money was a kickback for (Yang’s) nomination,” a prosecution official said.

The prosecution notified Pro-Park Chairman Suh Chung-won to report to the prosecutors’ office to confirm the reasons that the party selected her as the top candidate for proportional seats. Prosecutors are negotiating over the timing of Suh’s visit, according to sources.

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