Arrest warrant issued for opposition`s supreme council member over bribery

SEOUL, Nov. 14 (Yonhap) -- A court issued an arrest warrant Friday against a senior opposition party member accused of bribery who said the probe is a "hunt" of the opposition.

Kim Min-seok, who failed to win a seat in April's parliamentary race but has
since been elected to the party's top decision-making supreme council, was
accused of receiving 450 million won (US$324,910) from businessmen in the runup
to the party's presidential candidate nomination in August last year and the
parliamentary election season.
Prosecutors summoned him twice for questioning, but he did not appear.
"There is evidence to the allegations, and considering how he came to receive the
political funds, his connection with the providers and the way he responded to
the investigation, there are concerns that he may destroy the evidence and flee,"
Kim Yong-sang, a judge in charge of warrant issuance at the Seoul Central
District Court, said.
Kim, a former democratic activist who now holds an emblematic status in his
party, has been protesting inside the party headquarters, while party officials
physically blocked prosecutors from entering to take him into custody on
Wednesday.
The party said the prosecution was ignoring assurance that Kim will not flee or
destroy evidence and vowed to physically block Kim's arrest.
"It's obviously an unfair investigation to hunt down the opposition, and our
position remains unchanged that we can't accept the arrest," Rep. Choi Jae-sung,
the party's spokesman, said.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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