People Power Party Ethics Member: "Disruption Due to Chair’s Unilateral Communication... No Further Resignations"

Internal Protests Erupt Over Ethics Committee Press Release
Leadership May Resume Disciplinary Deliberations After Additional Appointments

The Central Ethics Committee of the People Power Party is experiencing internal strife as a series of resignations by ethics committee members and public criticism of the committee chair continue. Ethics committee member A pointed to a lack of communication between the chair and members as the cause of the dysfunction, but stated that no further resignations would be made in pursuit of normalizing the committee's operations.

On July 23, member A of the People Power Party’s Ethics Committee told The Asia Business Daily that the cause of the committee’s dysfunction was, “a lack of communication among members, failure to share schedules with those unable to attend meetings, and the lack of prior consultation on press releases.”

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on July 23, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

This member publicly criticized the unilateral management style of the committee chair and demanded an apology. As for whether the other members shared this sentiment, the member commented, “Perhaps one or two others, including myself,” but added, “Anyone who is a lawyer would sympathize with my position.” The comment suggested there were procedural issues in the operation of the ethics committee.

The member also stated that if the chair does not apologize or amend the issues, “additional actions are under consideration.” However, the member drew the line that there are no plans to resign from the committee for the sake of normalizing its operations.

The previous day, the Ethics Committee held its second general meeting after the June 3 local elections to discuss standards for reviewing disciplinary requests and related matters. After the meeting, the Ethics Committee issued a press release stating that “simple criticism of the party leader or the party itself is not subject to disciplinary action," but added, “acts of excessively intentional, repeated, persistent, and organized criticism constitute an exception.”

However, it is reported that some committee members strongly protested the contents of this press release. In the course of these events, one committee member reportedly expressed an intention to resign due to discomfort stemming from their real name being made public by the media.

The Ethics Committee sent a notice that afternoon explaining, “B committee member, who recently expressed the intention to resign, said that after his real name was revealed in a media report, the burden became too great, making further service as a committee member difficult.”

The Jang Donghyuk leadership appointed one additional member to the Ethics Committee at the Supreme Council meeting on July 9, but with one resignation on July 23, the number of ethics committee members dropped back down to six. Under committee regulations, a majority of incumbents including the chair must be present for deliberations on agenda items, with approval from a majority of those present required for decisions.

Within and outside the party, there is speculation that the leadership may reorganize the Ethics Committee and continue discussions on disciplinary action. According to party bylaws, the Ethics Committee consists of up to nine members appointed by the party leader with the approval of the Supreme Council. There is speculation that, after additional appointments by Representative Jang, the review of disciplinary cases could resume.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.