Extension of Terms and Strengthening of Eligibility Requirements for the Innovation Committee and Ethics Committee

Announcement of Innovation Plan No. 1... Emergency Committee Approval Process Remaining
Authority to Review Candidate Disqualification to Be Given to Ethics Committee
Reflecting Lee's Opinion? "No Different from Collecting Party Members' Opinions"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] The People Power Party Innovation Committee has decided to extend the terms of ethics committee members and significantly strengthen their qualifications to ensure the independence of the party's Ethics Committee. They also plan to transfer some functions of the Nomination Management Committee to the Ethics Committee.

On the 22nd, the People Power Party Innovation Committee held a meeting at the National Assembly and announced the first innovation plan containing these details. Innovation Committee Chairperson Rep. Choi Jae-hyung stated during a briefing after the meeting, “To strengthen the independence of the Ethics Committee, we have prepared a plan to extend the term of the Ethics Committee Chairperson from one year to three years, which is longer than that of the party leader, and to require not only the Supreme Council’s approval but also the Standing National Committee’s ratification in the appointment process of the Central Ethics Committee Chairperson and ethics committee members.” He added, “We also adopted a plan to significantly strengthen the qualifications of Central Ethics Committee members so that the Ethics Committee can effectively function as a judicial body within the party.”

When asked whether the term extension would apply to the current Ethics Committee Chairperson Lee Yang-hee, Rep. Choi explained, “I understand that the current ethics committee members’ terms end around September or October, but whether this plan will be adopted or whether they will be reappointed is a matter for the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson or party leadership to decide.”

The Innovation Committee also proposed a plan to distribute some authority of the Nomination Management Committee to the Ethics Committee. Rep. Choi said, “To enhance transparency and fairness in nominations, we adopted a plan to grant the Ethics Committee the authority to review candidate disqualifications, which was previously unified under the Nomination Management Committee.”

Other nomination innovation measures, such as strengthening the Public Office Candidate Competency Test (PPAT) and creating a talent database, will be announced after further review. The innovation plans announced by the Innovation Committee will undergo a collective approval process by the Emergency Response Committee.

Regarding whether former party leader Lee Jun-seok’s opinions were reflected in the innovation plan announced that day, Rep. Choi said, “I met with former leader Lee and discussed the innovation plan. His ideas were heard but were not concretely organized into the proposals presented. We considered his various ideas just as we do with opinions from general party members; there is nothing particularly different just because they came from him.”

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