Lawmaker who threw tear gas in parliament snubs summons

Rep. Kim Sun-dong who threw a tear gas canister inside the National Assembly last year to prevent ratification of the free trade agreement with the U.S. refused to appear before prosecutors again.

According to prosecutors in the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office, Kim of the now-defunct Democratic Party snubbed a summons to appear at the prosecutors’ office by 2 p.m. Wednesday. He has ignored a previous request to report for questioning on Dec. 19 last year.

A prosecution source said, “There has been no change to the principle that Kim needs to be grilled,” adding, “But this is not the time to consider placing him under custody by asking for an arrest warrant from a court.” Prosecutors are mulling whether to send him a third request to report for questioning.

Except for grilling Kim, prosecutors finished other investigations into the incident. Officials at the Secretariat of the National Assembly were grilled as witnesses, and video footage from surveillance cameras installed at the entrance of the main conference hall was also analyzed.

The National Institute of Scientific Investigation also analyzed the remains of the tear gas canister and confirmed that they contained tear gas substances.

Prosecutors said how Kim got hold of the tear gas canister will be confirmed if he is grilled.

ryu@donga.com