The prosecution requested Wednesday a court warrant for the arrest of Rep. Hyun Young-hee on allegations that she tried to buy candidacy for a ruling Saenuri Party proportional representative ahead of the April elections.

Rep. Hyun has so far denied most of the charges set out in three prosecutorial summonses against her.

Prosecution officials, however, are confident that they can secure enough documentary evidence and witness testimony for her arrest.

One of Rep. Hyun’s former assistants reported to the prosecution earlier that he delivered 300 million won ($264,643) to a party official, who was affiliated with former Rep. Hyun Ki-hwan, who served as a member of the party’s candidate selection panel.

According to the National Assembly Act, the arrest of an incumbent lawmaker during a session requires a majority vote in a parliamentary general meeting.

In Rep. Hyun’s case, the motion is expected to be passed within the month with little dissent as the Saenuri Party, fearing the scandal’s impact on the presidential election in December, stripped her of her membership last week.

While prosecutors have acted against Rep. Hyun, they have so far struggled to prove the charges for the other Hyun.

The ex-lawmaker underwent 16 hours of questioning by investigators until early Wednesday morning.

He, too, denied all allegations, claiming that the 300 million won had never reached him.

The cash-for-candidacy scandal erupted in early August, dealing a blow to the Saenuri Party and Rep. Park Geun-hye, who was leader of the party at the time of the alleged deal.

Rep. Park, who was recently elected as the party’s presidential candidate, has been pressed by her opponents to apologize for the scandal.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)