S. Korean parliament approves arrest of opposition party leader

SEOUL, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- The South Korean parliament on Thursday approved a motion seeking the arrest of Lee Jae-myung, chief of the main opposition Democratic Party.

The motion was put to an anonymous vote during a plenary session, with 149 in favor, 136 against, six abstentions and four undervotes.

It came after the prosecution sought the arrest warrant for Lee over charges including breach of trust and bribery earlier this week.

By law, incumbent lawmakers are exempt from arrest while the National Assembly is in session and can be detained only when peer lawmakers consent to it. The Democratic Party controls a majority of 168 seats in the 298-member assembly.

Lee will be subject to the court's hearing to determine the warrant's validity.

The Lee side completely denied the charges, as no clear evidence had been found to support them despite hundreds of raids.

Lee has been on a hunger strike for about three weeks to protest against government policies, including that the South Korean government has supported Japan's dumping of radioactive wastewater into the ocean.