Democratic Party Urges Replacement of Lee Jinsook from Committee over May 18 Distortion, Conflict of Interest Concerns

Members of the Science, Technology, Information, and Broadcasting Communications Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea called for the removal of Lee Jin-sook, a People Power Party assembly member, from the committee on September 7. They cited two main reasons: Lee's involvement in hosting a forum that distorted and disparaged the May 18 Democratic Movement, and concerns regarding potential conflicts of interest related to her previous responsibilities as Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission.

Members of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting Communications Committee, including Han Junho, the ruling party spokesperson from the Democratic Party of Korea, urged the People Power Party at the National Assembly Press Center on the 7th to replace assembly member Lee Jin-sook in the committee. Photo by Yonhap News

At a press conference on the same day, the Democratic Party committee members demanded, “Assembly member Lee Jin-sook should apologize to the public and the citizens of Gwangju and resign from the National Assembly,” and further urged, “The People Power Party should immediately remove Lee from the committee.”

They criticized a parliamentary forum organized by Lee, where the May 18 Democratic Movement was defined as a “disturbance” and claims were presented denying the responsibility of the new military regime and former President Chun Doo-hwan. They also referenced the resolution, passed at the National Assembly plenary session on August 26, calling for Lee's expulsion.

Conflict of interest issues were also raised. The Democratic Party argued that Lee, as a current committee member, is in a position to audit and assess decisions and work she was involved in as the former Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission, and that she is also a defendant directly accused by the committee for alleged perjury during a parliamentary audit.

The Democratic Party members of the committee stated, “With a structure where one can handle both their own work and allegations, it is difficult to maintain the committee’s fairness and public trust in the parliamentary inspection.” They also requested that Lee refrain from making statements or participating in votes on related agenda items.

They reiterated their call to the People Power Party, saying, “A firm decision must be made for the normalization of the committee,” and continued to press for Lee’s removal. The Democratic Party plans to further raise issues regarding Lee’s expulsion process and the committee’s operation at the full committee meeting scheduled for September 8.

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