Citizens Party to Expel and Report Elected Member Yang Jeong-suk over 'Illegal Wealth Accumulation Allegations'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] The Democratic Party's proportional representation party, the Deobureo Citizen Party, announced on the 28th that it is considering expelling elected member Yang Jeongsuk, who has been accused of violating the real-name real estate system and property trust issues related to wealth accumulation, and filing a complaint with the prosecution.

Je Yoon-kyung, the chief spokesperson for the Citizen Party, stated in a press release that "regarding the real estate issues of elected member Yang Jeongsuk reported by some media outlets, the party will soon hold an ethics committee meeting to take the strongest possible measures."

Yang declared assets worth approximately 9.2 billion KRW to the National Election Commission when running in this general election. This amount is 4.3 billion KRW more than the assets declared when registering as a Democratic Party proportional representation candidate in the 2016 20th general election.

Her detailed assets include three apartments in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Seocho-dong, Seocho-gu, and two buildings in Songpa-gu and Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do, totaling five real estate properties. Some media outlets have raised suspicions that Yang evaded taxes by using her younger sibling's name during the real estate purchase process.

Chief spokesperson Je explained, "In Yang's case, there was a significant discrepancy between the initial media reports just before the general election and the explanations she provided during the candidate verification process. The party has conducted several internal investigations and requested additional explanations to verify the facts." He added, "However, during this process, due to unfaithful explanations, avoidance of submitting materials, and coordination among family members, the party faced limitations in enforcing compulsory investigations."

He continued, "We have repeatedly requested her voluntary resignation from the candidacy, but she has firmly refused amid ongoing additional reports. Instead of further party-level investigations with clear limitations, the Citizen Party's basic policy is to revoke her party membership and pursue compulsory investigations through law enforcement agencies to uncover the truth and ensure that the elected member bears the most severe judicial and political responsibilities."

The Citizen Party plans to hold an ethics committee meeting this afternoon to discuss disciplinary actions, including expulsion, against elected member Yang. If Yang resigns, candidate Lee Kyung-soo, number 18 on the Citizen Party's proportional representation list, will succeed her.

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