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For the first time in Korean history, an incumbent lawmaker is facing arrest on sedition charges.
The leftist lawmaker Lee Seok-ki of the Unified Progressive Party is answering questions by
a judge examining a request to issue an arrest warrant.
Yoo Li-an reports.
Lawmaker Lee Seok-ki is being questioned by the Suwon District Court, which will decide
whether to issue a warrant for his arrest.
The National Assembly passed an arrest motion for Lee on Wednesday afternoon, stripping
him of his parliamentary immunity from arrest.
Lee was in detention at a police station in Suwon prior to the warrant examination.
If the court issues the warrant, Lee will be arrested.
The lawmaker is facing three main charges by the National Intelligence Service.
They are: conspiring to stage a revolt with a group of North Korea sympathizers, plotting
to disrupt South Korean systems, including key infrastructure such as communication lines
and railways, and creating an organization benefitting North Korea... called the Revolutionary
Organization.
Lee denies all the charges.
The main evidence against Lee -- an audio recording of a meeting of the RO in May -- was
submitted to the court by the spy agency.
Lee's lawyers have argued, however, that the spy agency pieced parts of the recording together
to distort Lee's intention and that the contents do not provide enough details to support the
charges against Lee.
The warrant examination is expected to end late on Thursday.
Yoo Li-an, Arirang News.