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Parliament passes motion allowing arrest of PPP's Kweon

Published: 11 Sep. 2025, 18:16

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party speaks on a motion for his arrest during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Sept. 11. [NEWS1]

The National Assembly on Thursday approved a motion to allow the arrest of People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, who faces allegations that he unlawfully accepted money from the Unification Church for political funds.

Lawmakers voted on the motion in a plenary session, with 173 in favor, one against, one abstention and two invalid ballots out of 177 votes cast.

The motion required a majority of lawmakers to be present and a majority of those present to vote in favor. The Democratic Party (DP) currently holds the majority of seats, while the PPP is the main opposition.

PPP lawmakers staged a walkout after Kweon addressed the chamber, boycotting the vote.

Cameras captured Kweon holding up a ballot marked in favor of the motion as he walked to the ballot box.

Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the People Power Party, who faces charges of accepting political funds from the Unification Church, casts his vote on a motion for his arrest during a plenary session at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Sept. 11. He previously stated he would waive his parliamentary immunity and placed a ballot marked “yes” into the box. [[YONHAP]

Before the vote, Kweon denied the allegations.

“The claims raised by the special counsel are all false,” he said. “The day the donor allegedly gave me 100 million won [$71,900] was the first time I met that person one-on-one. Who would exchange illegal political funds at a first meeting?”

Kweon added that he would not appeal to the opposition for sympathy.

“No matter how unfair this is, I will not plead my innocence to the DP,” he said. “But if I could ask one thing, let this political retaliation end with me.”

He also urged his party colleagues to support the motion. “You must think of the party first, not your colleague Kweon Seong-dong. I sincerely ask you to cast your vote in favor of the motion to strip my immunity from arrest.”

The government submitted the motion to the Assembly on Sept. 1, and it was reported to the plenary session on Tuesday.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HONG JOO-HEE [[email protected]]