Jin Jongoh to Submit Ethics Committee Member Exclusion Request, Says "Very Regrettable"

On August 18, Assemblyman Jin Jong-oh of the People Power Party stated regarding the disciplinary review by the Central Ethics Committee, "I said I would submit a request to recuse (an ethics committee member), but Ethics Committee Chairman Yoon Min-woo did not guarantee me sufficient time for this." Jin added, "I will submit a written request for recusal by midnight tonight."

Yonhap News Agency

Speaking to reporters after attending the ethics committee meeting for clarification at the party's central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, in the afternoon, Jin said, "The committee's questioning was framed in a way that made it seem as if they were telling me, ‘You did something wrong, so receive your verdict here today.’ I found this very regrettable and uncomfortable," explaining his position.

Previously, Assemblyman Jin was referred to the Ethics Committee for two main reasons: supporting Independent Assemblyman Han Dong-hoon, who was expelled, during the 9th nationwide local elections and concurrent parliamentary by-elections; and having an inappropriate conversation with Assemblyman Seo Beom-soo at a recent forum on supplementary investigation rights.

According to Assemblyman Jin and his legal representative, former spokesperson Park Sang-soo, Jin had previously requested the list of ethics committee members in order to submit a recusal request. However, the party responded that it could not make the list public and asked Jin to attend the committee meeting, review the list in person, and then submit his recusal request accordingly.

Former spokesperson Park stated, "We asked the ethics committee to guarantee time to submit a written recusal request in accordance with the party charter and rules, but Chairman Yoon said, ‘Even if you file a recusal request, you must still provide your explanation today.’" He continued, "Since there are ethics committee members who may potentially be subject to recusal, it is not possible to proceed with the explanation now. We requested that a separate explanation procedure be ensured after the recusal request is submitted."

Under the current regulations of the People Power Party, a person subject to disciplinary review may submit a written request for recusal if there is reason to suspect that a particular committee member may not make an impartial decision. However, whether or not to accept the recusal request is at the discretion of the ethics committee, so the outcome remains uncertain.

Park also stated, "Chairman Yoon said he would reconsider whether to allow a new explanation procedure after the recusal request is submitted," adding, "If the recusal request is not accepted, we will discuss potential responses at a later date."

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