By Yoon Won-sup

The National Assembly on Monday passed a resolution calling for the release of Rep. Suh Chung-won of the majority Grand National Party (GNP), who was arrested on charges of taking 1 billion won in bribes from the Hanwha Group during the 2002 presidential elections.

A total of 158 lawmakers voted in favor, while 60 opposed. Two abstained.

In protest, the pro-government Uri Party boycotted the vote. Prosecutors as well as civic groups also criticized the move as an abuse of lawmakers’ privileges.

The GNP enlisted the support of the second largest Millennium Democratic Party (MDP) for the overwhelming passage of the resolution.

The Assembly also passed a separate MDP-led resolution calling for prompt investigations into the MDP primary elections involving President Roh Moo-hyun and Rep. Chung Dong-young, chairman of the pro-government Uri Party. Roh and Chung fell out with the MDP and formed the Uri Party last year.

Immediately after the resolution was passed, Suh was released after 15 days in detention for having received 1 billion won in bonds from Hanwha chairman Kim Seung-youn as an illegal corporate contribution to the GNP presidential campaign. Suh served as the party chairman at that time.

Under pertinent regulations, the authorities are compelled to comply with a request by the Assembly that a lawmaker be released, unless he or she is caught red-handed while committing a crime.

However, Suh should be taken into custody again after the current extraordinary session ends. It was the second time that the Assembly exercised its right to free one of their colleagues since Kim Hwa-nam, an independent lawmaker, was released in July 1996.

Meanwhile, the resolution on the probe into Roh and Chung was also passed in an overwhelming manner with 167 out of the 173 lawmakers present at the plenary session voting in favor. MDP lawmakers said that the prosecution targeted only the former MDP chairman Hahn Hwa-kap, who also participated in the 2002 MDP primary, and applied to court for an arrest warrant for him without looking to President Roh and Uri Party chairman Chung regarding primary campaign funds.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr