Is Leaving the Party the End?…Ruling and Opposition Parties' 'Scapegoating' Controversy

- Lee Sang-jik, Park Deok-heum, etc., rushed to dismiss without thorough investigation
- Ruling party mentions possible disadvantages in reinstatement review amid criticism of avoiding disciplinary action

Lee Sang-jik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is entering the press conference room on the 24th at the National Assembly to express his position regarding the Eastar Jet incident. Lee, the founder of Eastar Jet, took responsibility for the mass layoffs and left the Democratic Party. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Recently, there has been a continuous string of party defections by lawmakers who have caused controversies, regardless of party affiliation. Critics point out that each party is more focused on scapegoating to avoid taking responsibility.

Lee Sang-jik, founder of Eastar Jet and a Democratic Party lawmaker, held a press conference on the 24th and declared his withdrawal from the party, saying, "I sincerely apologize to the public for the concerns caused by unpaid wages, layoffs, and other personal and family-related issues." He added, "With a spirit of putting the party first and myself second, I will no longer cause trouble for the party. I will be away from the party for a while," and said, "I will revive Eastar Jet and the jobs of its employees with a do-or-die determination so that the public and party members can say, 'In the end, Lee Sang-jik solved the problem.'"

Lee's defection came just eight days after he was referred to the party's Ethics Inspection Team. Previously, the Ethics Inspection Team was investigating Lee regarding controversies over Eastar Jet's layoff notices and allegations of illegal inheritance to his children. With Lee's close aides recently detained on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, his expulsion from the party was widely anticipated both inside and outside the party.

With Lee's defection, the Ethics Inspection Team had no choice but to halt the investigation without reaching any conclusion. This has raised criticism that the defection was more about avoiding controversy and expulsion than resolving the issues.

Park Deok-heum, a member of the People Power Party who is suspected of receiving preferential orders worth hundreds of billions of won from an audited institution through a family business, is holding a press conference to announce his resignation from the party at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 23rd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

In particular, the Democratic Party, which had criticized Park Deok-heum's defection as a 'scapegoating' by the People Power Party, found itself in an embarrassing situation following Lee's defection declaration. The Justice Party also pointed out this situation, saying, "Calling it a temporary defection is outrageous and absurd," and urged Lee to resign from his lawmaker position. The Justice Party criticized, "Following Kim Hong-gul and Park Deok-heum, what kind of pardon do they think Lee Sang-jik's defection is?" and added, "They do not even consider showing proper responsibility for the mistakes they have committed."

Recently, defections from both ruling and opposition parties include Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Hong-gul, People Power Party lawmaker Park Deok-heum, and now Lee, making it the third case. Although they have left their parties, they still retain their lawmaker positions, allowing them to continue supporting their parties in bill proposals, committee meetings, and plenary sessions. For the parties, this means only a reduction in seat count but no significant change in influence within the National Assembly. Moreover, these lawmakers have expressed intentions to return to their parties after resolving the issues.

The Democratic Party, seemingly aware of the criticism, has decided to push for amendments to party rules and regulations to impose disadvantages on those who defect to avoid disciplinary action and later seek reinstatement. Currently, the Ethics Inspection Team's regulations do not include provisions for cases where a member defects during an investigation, but measures to impose some penalties during reinstatement reviews are being discussed.

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