Former DP leader Song Young Gil arrives at Incheon International Airport on April 24. (Source: Yonhap)

Two Democratic Party (DP) lawmakers, Youn Kwan Suk and Lee Sung Man, are being sought by the prosecutors for arrest on suspicion of distributing "cash envelopes" to DP members to help candidate Song Young Gil win the party chairmanship ahead of the DP's national convention in May 2021.

The illegal amount of money used by Rep. Youn to transfer to DP lawmakers is estimated to be up to 60 million won. Meanwhile, Rep. Lee is accused of distributing 10 million won to DP regional leaders.

Later, candidate Song Young Gil was elected as Chairman of the DP and the DP is currently holding a majority in the National Assembly with 167/299 seats. However, two lawmakers Youn Kwan Suk and Lee Sung Man announced their departure from the Party when bribery allegations emerged.

Under Korean law, the arrest of sitting lawmakers requires the approval of the National Assembly. Accordingly, the arrest motion can only be approved after the National Assembly convenes a plenary session with at least 50% of the total number of delegates attending and must receive a majority vote.

Since the current National Assembly's four-year term began in April 2020, a total of six arrest warrants have been filed and four of them have been passed. One of the two rejected warrants involved DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung.