People Power Party Ethics Committee Resumes Disciplinary Actions... 'Disciplinary Civil War' Escalates

Ethics Committee Initiates Disciplinary Procedures for Three Lawmakers
Factional Clashes Over Disciplinary Measures Seem Unavoidable

The atmosphere within the People Power Party has become increasingly tense after the Central Ethics Committee initiated disciplinary procedures against sitting lawmakers. While the Ethics Committee stated that it would exclude factionalism and political remarks, focusing solely on reviewing specific actions, the involvement of lawmakers friendly to the pro-Lee Junghyuk faction and some who have been at odds with party leader Jang Donghyuk suggests that factional clashes over the disciplinary measures are unavoidable.

According to political sources on July 28, the Central Ethics Committee of the People Power Party held a meeting the previous day at a location in Yeouido, Seoul, where it decided to initiate disciplinary procedures against lawmakers Kyungtae Cho, Youngjin Kwon, and Jongoh Jin. The Committee, previously unable to make decisions in two prior meetings due to a lack of quorum, fulfilled the voting requirement with just three members present this time, as the resignation of several members had reduced the total number to five.

The People Power Party Central Ethics Committee announced on the 27th that it has initiated disciplinary procedures against lawmakers Cho Kyung-tae, Jin Jong-oh, and Kwon Young-jin (from left in the photo). Photo by Yonhap News

Lawmaker Cho faces allegations of refusing to accept the results of the vice-speaker race and allegedly requesting Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers to vote against the election of Vice-Speaker Park Deokheum. Lawmaker Kwon is accused of becoming involved in a physical altercation with floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik while protesting his committee assignment. Lawmaker Jin is accused of supporting independent lawmaker Han Donghoon in the North Busan election. As a result, disciplinary petitions have been filed against each lawmaker.

The Ethics Committee has stated that it has focused on specific behaviors in narrowing down its disciplinary targets. By limiting the scope to three sitting lawmakers, the Committee appears to be seeking a "precision strike" to minimize political fallout. Nevertheless, concerns are rising within the party that this marks the beginning of "disciplinary politics" targeting the non-mainstream faction. This is because lawmaker Jin is considered part of the pro-Lee faction, while lawmaker Cho has also publicly questioned the leadership of Jang following the party's defeat in the local elections.

Within the leadership, there have been calls for lawmaker Kwon to voluntarily leave the party. Floor leader Jeong, who was directly involved in the incident, said, "I have personally accepted his apology and hope for leniency," but added, "It is difficult to further assess the matter now that the Ethics Committee has initiated formal disciplinary procedures."

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