Police raid South Korean parliament office over bribery allegations

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA(AA) - Police in South Korea raided the office of the country's parliament on Monday as part of an ongoing investigation into bribery allegations involving at least 10 lawmakers, local media reported.

Prosecutors ordered the raid on the National Assembly Secretariat under a probe into allegations that about 10 lawmakers took bribes related to the 2021 election of the main opposition Democratic Party's (DP) new chairman, according to the Seoul-based Yonhap News.

Investigators from the Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office searched the premises to seize the entry and exit logs of the lawmakers around the time of the DP leadership election.

It was alleged that campaign officials of then-candidate Song Young-gil distributed cash envelopes totaling 94 million won ($71,892) to 10-20 sitting DP legislators and other party members in the run-up to the party's national convention.

Prosecutors last month sought arrest warrants for former DP lawmakers Youn Kwan-suk and Lee Sung-man on charges of involvement in the cash-for-votes campaign during the chairmanship election.

They suspect Youn distributed envelopes containing 3 million won each to about 20 sitting DP lawmakers over two days in April 2021.