People Power Party Ethics Committee Disciplines Four Incumbent Lawmakers... Cho Kyungtae Suspended for 2 Years and 6 Months

The Central Ethics Committee of the People Power Party decided on August 20 to suspend the party membership of four incumbent lawmakers who were subject to disciplinary review: six-term lawmaker Kyungtae Cho, two-term Kyoungjin Kwon, Beomsu Seo, and first-term lawmaker Jongoh Jin. Of these, lawmaker Kyungtae Cho’s party membership will be suspended for 2 years and 6 months, Jongoh Jin for 2 years, and Kyoungjin Kwon for 1 year and 6 months. The suspension will remain effective until the April 2028 general election, making it virtually impossible for these three lawmakers to run as People Power Party candidates. Lawmaker Beomsu Seo received a suspension of party membership for 10 months.

The People Power Party’s Central Ethics Committee decided on the 20th to impose a "membership suspension" disciplinary action on four incumbent lawmakers—six-term Jo Kyung-tae (from the left), two-term Kwon Young-jin, Seo Beom-su, and first-term Jin Jong-oh—who were subject to disciplinary review. Among them, Jo Kyung-tae (2 years 6 months), Jin Jong-oh (2 years), and Kwon Young-jin (1 year 6 months) received "severe disciplinary actions," effectively barring them from running as People Power Party candidates in the April 2028 general election, which is 1 year and 8 months away. Seo Beom-su was given a membership suspension of 10 months. Yonhap News Agency

The People Power Party’s Ethics Committee announced through a press release at approximately 7:40 p.m. that the disciplinary actions had been approved at their earlier meeting that day. Disciplinary measures by the Ethics Committee are categorized as expulsion, recommendation to leave the party, suspension of party membership for between one month and three years, and warnings.

Lawmaker Cho was disciplined for asking lawmakers from other parties to vote against Deokhum Park, the People Power Party’s candidate for National Assembly vice speaker, during the selection process for the opposition vice speaker. Lawmaker Kwon was referred to the Ethics Committee for grabbing the collars of both former and current floor leaders during his protest over committee assignments in the latter half of the parliamentary session, which caused public controversy.

Lawmakers Seo and Jin were disciplined in part for making inappropriate remarks at a National Assembly forum that invited the victim of the "Busan roundhouse kick" case. In addition, lawmaker Jin was referred to the Ethics Committee for supporting independent candidate Donghoon Han in the June 3 parliamentary by-election for Busan Buk-gap.

Five out of the total six committee members attended the Ethics Committee meeting that day, including chairperson Minwoo Yoon. Gyeongseong Hwang, a committee member who had demanded Yoon's resignation, was absent. All four lawmakers subject to disciplinary action are non-mainstream within the party and have often been at odds with party leader Donghyuk Jang, who has consistently prioritized disciplinary politics both directly and indirectly.

In particular, since three lawmakers received severe disciplinary measures that will impact their eligibility for the next general election, there are growing concerns about renewed internal conflict over the appropriateness of the disciplinary severity. Some lawmakers might challenge the disciplinary process and severity in court by filing for injunctions to halt the effect, raising the possibility that this disciplinary action could escalate into a legal dispute.

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