South Korea's main opposition leader was hospitalised on Monday, days into a hunger strike in protest against government policies, while prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for him over corruption allegations.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, began the protest on Aug. 31, citing the government's economic mismanagement, threats to media freedom and the failure to oppose the Fukushima wastewaster release, among other reasons.
The former presidential candidate was transferred to a hospital from the National Assembly in Seoul Monday morning after suffering from dehydration and dizziness, his party said.
Kim Gi-hyeon, the head of the ruling People Power Party, has urged Lee to stop fasting, saying he was ready to talk with the opposition leader on policy issues.
Hours after Lee was transferred to a hospital, prosecutors said they had requested an arrest warrant for him as part of an investigation into a development project and bribery allegations.
Lee is accused of being in breach of his duty over losses of 20 billion won ($15 million) run up by Seongnam Development Corporation during his time as mayor of Seongnam city, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors also accused Lee of bribery in connection with a company suspected of $8 million in illegal money transfers to North Korea.
Lee has denied any wrongdoing, calling the allegations "fiction" and a "political conspiracy."
A Seoul court needs the 300-member parliament, where the Democrats hold a majority, to waive Lee's immunity from arrest to review the prosecution's request.
Parliament rejected their previous request for an arrest warrant in February.
Lee lost to President Yoon Suk Yeol, a former prosecutor-general, in the 2022 presidential election by a margin of 0.7%.
© Thomson Reuters 2023.
8 Comments
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elephant200
Lee lost to President Yoon Suk Yeol, a former prosecutor-general, in the 2022 presidential election by a margin of 0.7%.
Yoon is a horrible tyrant , unpopular and a puppet of U.S. He might have been interfering the justice to jail Lee !
opheliajadefeldt
Hospitalised after going a few days with out food, some thing does not add up up right here.
OssanAmerica
Oh what a surprise from the leader of an anti-Yoon anti-Japan political faction.
buua
Some people in opposition parties seem to think that their raison d'être is to oppose everything.
Fighto!
Pres. Yoon is the best President Korea has ever had. Brilliant leader. His sensible, pro Japan policies are refreshing. Sadly, because of this,he is despised by the hard-left media and deeply unpopular. It is highly likely he will be jailed at the end of his term (a political tradition in Korea).
Azzprin
Not just refusing food as he was transferred to a hospital after suffering from dehydration so he must also have been refusing fluids.
Dehydration can hospitalise a person in days.
Samit Basu
For those lacking the context, Lee cannot be arrested as long as the Democratic party is in control of the parliament, since the arrest of a current parliamentary member requires an approval by the parliament and the Democratic party is expected to continue to control the parliament until the next presidential election in which Lee is expected to win, be it next year(Yoon's impeachment) or in 2027.
Rather, Lee is using the hunger strike to quash the voice of the opposition within the Democratic party which largely disappeared after Lee began his hunger strike. There was a fierce infighting between Lee faction and Rho/Moon faction for their share of candidacy.
Samit Basu
@elephant200
This kind of a miracle won't be repeated, because it was the result of a political engineering by a Harvard graduating young leader of the conservative party, who put together two completely different voting blocks, the elderly and the disgruntled young men of Under-30 who felt discriminated by Moon's pro-woman policies.
While the elderly over 60 continue to back Yoon's party, the young men under 30 realized they have been tricked by the conservative party and returned to the Democratic party voting block and all voters under 60 back the Democratic party by a margin of 20% or more, so the conservatives are guaranteed to be defeated in any election from now on, be it the next general election or the next presidential election.