The innovation committee of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) demanded Friday that all party lawmakers submit written pledges to give up their immunity from arrest and that the party adopt it as an official policy to pass future arrest consent motions.
The newly established committee put forward the demands as part of reform efforts at a time when the party has struggled with a series of scandals. The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has also launched a similar campaign where more than half of its lawmakers signed pledges to give up arrest immunity.
By law, lawmakers in South Korea are immune from arrest while parliament is in session and can be arrested only when the National Assembly consents to it. But criticism has arisen recently that the privilege is abused to protect corrupt politicians.
"We demand that all DP lawmakers submit written pledges renouncing their no-arrest privilege and that the party adopt it as an official policy to approve future arrest motions," said Yoon Hyeong-joong, the spokesperson for the DP's innovation committee at a press conference.
Earlier this week, PPP leader Kim Gi-hyeon also suggested giving up this privilege as part of political reform efforts. After his pitch, almost all of the PPP's 113 members in parliament signed an oath to give up such rights.
The DP, which controls a majority in the 300-member National Assembly, came under fire after voting down arrest consent motions for two DP lawmakers earlier this month. It marked the fourth time the party has rejected arrest motions for DP lawmakers since the launch of the government of President Yoon Suk Yeol.
During Friday's meeting, the innovation committee also discussed the future direction of the team.
"Our big goal is to restore politics as an ethical party, diagnose where we are at now and provide visions for the future," said Kim Nam-hee, another spokesperson of the committee.
Source: Yonhap News Agency