Jin Jong-oh: "Ethics Committee Disciplinary Action Is Political Purge... Disclose the Grounds for the Decision"

Press Conference on Ethics Committee’s Disciplinary Decision

"Considering Legal Action After Receiving Official Notice"

Jin Jong-oh, a member of the People Power Party, demanded that the Central Ethics Committee disclose the specific reasoning behind its decision to suspend his party membership for two years, calling the disciplinary action “enforced without thoroughly examining the facts.”

At a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 21st, Assemblyman Jin asserted, “The reason cited by the Ethics Committee for my disciplinary action—that I publicly supported candidate Han Dong-hoon, who ran as an independent—is clearly false.”

Jin Jong-oh, a member of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference on the 21st at the National Assembly Communication Office regarding the disciplinary decision of the Ethics Committee. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

He claimed that the statement questioned by the Ethics Committee was made during a media interview conducted in April, at which time Han had not yet become an independent candidate. He explained that Han declared his candidacy and registered as a preliminary candidate on May 4, so interpreting the earlier interview as a public endorsement of an independent candidate is not supported by the chronological order of events.

Jin added, “Before the candidate registration, I did share opinions and intentions with Han in pursuit of a conservative victory and the party’s future, but it is not true that I supported any specific candidate after Han became an independent.”

He also denied allegations that his aides were dispatched to Han’s campaign. He said, “I appeared before the Ethics Committee and made it clear the dispatch of my staff was not true, and there was no further questioning about it. Nevertheless, the disciplinary process proceeded based on this false claim.”

He went on to insist, “Make public, by today, exactly where, when, to whom, and in what manner I allegedly publicly supported Han Dong-hoon. If the committee cannot disclose this, then it must admit that it has become a tool for political purges and nothing more than bodyguards for Representative Jang Dong-hyuk and his followers.”

Jin indicated that he is open to possible legal action. Regarding whether he would request an injunction to suspend the disciplinary effect, he stated, “I have not yet been notified of the decision. A thorough legal review of the entire Ethics Committee process is necessary.”

On the possibility of requesting a retrial by the committee, he said, “If procedural fairness had been maintained, I could accept it, but I doubt a retrial could overturn the decision when the committee handed down punishment without even confirming the facts.”

He also criticized the committee for not accepting his challenge to exclude certain Ethics Committee members, stating, “Despite the existence of various media reports and evidence, the committee ruled there was no basis for exclusion. I think there are procedural flaws.”

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