SEOUL, An arrested former aide to opposition leader Lee Jae-myung has asked the Constitutional Court to look into whether a law requiring suspects to be brought for court hearings on their arrest warrants is constitutional, his lawyers said Thursday.
Jeong Jin-sang, a former vice chief of staff to Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Lee, filed the request the previous day, claiming the Criminal Procedure Act, which requires judges to issue warrants to bring suspects before courts for questioning on the request for their arrest, violates basic rights.
Jeong is currently standing trial on bribery charges connected to a high-profile development project in the city of Seongnam, launched while Lee was mayor.
The secrecy-shrouded former aide, known as Lee's "right-hand man," was brought in front of the public eye for the first time in November last year when he was made to attend a court hearing for an arrest warrant in connection with the scandal.
Jeong's lawyers said the article in question restricts the constitutionally guaranteed personal liberty, the principle of the presumption of innocence, the rights to lawyers and other basic human rights.
Source: Yonhap News Agency