Will the main opposition leader be arrested?

South Korea's parliament has authorized prosecutors to issue an arrest warrant for the main opposition leader accused of bribery and abuse of office.

The opposition-controlled parliament passed the motion by 136 votes to 149, euronews reported.

The vote means Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung will appear in court to challenge his arrest on the charges.

Lee is accused of asking a company to illegally transfer $8 million to North Korea when he was governor of Gyeonggi province.

The political leader is also accused of violating his duties as mayor of Seongnam by causing a municipal development company to lose $15 million.

"Political conspiracy"

Lee, who has denied any wrongdoing, calling the charges "fiction" and a "political conspiracy", was hospitalized on Monday while on a hunger strike in protest against the government's rule.

Lee, who was not present at the plenary session for the vote, had urged lawmakers in a social media post to vote against the motion and stop what he called the Yoon government's "prosecutorial dictatorship."

Lee narrowly lost to Yoon, a former attorney general, in last year's presidential election.

"The prime minister should be impeached"

Parliament also voted to impeach Prime Minister Han Duck-soo over a series of government policy blunders, including the fatal Halloween accident, inadequate response to heavy rains and flooding, and the much-criticized World Scout Camp.

It is the first time such a motion has been made against a prime minister in South Korea. President Yoon Suk Yeol is expected to use his power to reject the non-binding motion.

Yeol is currently in New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly.

The Democratic Party has 167 seats in the 297-member parliament.

The next parliamentary elections in South Korea are scheduled for April next year.