Lee Jun-seok Disciplinary Action Sparks Debate: 'Political Conspiracy' VS 'Legitimate Decision'

A '6-Month Suspension of Party Membership Rights' Disciplinary Action Against a Sitting Party Leader Is an Unprecedented Constitutional Crisis

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Opinions remain sharply divided regarding Lee Jun-seok, the party leader who was suspended from party membership for six months by the People Power Party Ethics Committee.

According to a survey conducted from the 11th to the 13th by four polling specialists?Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Hankook Research?among 1,001 men and women nationwide aged 18 and older, 46% responded that Lee should continue serving as party leader until the end of his term, while 43% said he should voluntarily resign.

On the 8th, the People Power Party Ethics Committee imposed a six-month suspension of party membership on Lee, who was suspected of sexual bribery and instructing evidence destruction. This is an unprecedented action against a sitting party leader in constitutional history.

Regarding the evaluation of the disciplinary process against Lee, 54% responded that it was a result influenced by political judgment, while 31% said it was a result of a legitimate process.

The survey was conducted via telephone interviews using virtual phone numbers (100%) provided by the three major domestic telecommunications companies. Weighting was applied based on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s resident registration population statistics as of late October 2020, with weights assigned by gender, age, and region. The sampling error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

In a separate survey commissioned by News Tomato to the polling agency Media Tomato from the 12th to the 13th among 1,015 adults nationwide aged 18 and older, 47.3% evaluated Lee’s disciplinary action as a "well-made decision," while 41.9% considered it a "wrong decision." Regionally, most areas showed higher approval, but in Daegu-Gyeongbuk and Gangwon-Jeju?regions with strong conservative support?there were many opinions that it was a "wrong decision." This survey was conducted via ARS (RDD) mobile phone method, with a sampling error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

In a survey conducted by KBC Gwangju Broadcasting and UPI News, commissioned to Next Week Research from the 12th to the 13th among 1,000 adults nationwide aged 18 and older, opinions on Lee’s party membership suspension were sharply divided between those viewing it as a "political conspiracy" and those seeing it as a "legitimate decision." 45.2% responded that it was a "political conspiracy by certain forces to seize party power," while 43.6% said it was a "legitimate decision based on allegations." This survey was conducted via ARS telephone interviews using a structured questionnaire. The response rate was 4.6%, and the sampling error was ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

For more details, please refer to the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission website.

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