Possibility of Additional Disciplinary Action by Ethics Committee... Lee Jun-seok Says "Discipline Those Most Responsible First" (Comprehensive)

"'Responsibility for the Incident' Poll, I Ranked 3rd"
Lee Jun-seok Also Files Injunction to Ban National Committee Meeting on the Same Day

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Geum Bo-ryeong] Regarding the People Power Party Central Ethics Committee's indication on the 1st of the possibility of additional disciplinary action against former party leader Lee Jun-seok, Lee raised his voice, saying, "Discipline the people who rank 1st and 2nd in responsibility and come back."

On the same day, Lee said through his social network service (SNS), "The Ethics Committee said they would discipline if 'public sentiment is alienated.' I welcome that."

He added, "If you look at public opinion polls about where the responsibility lies in this incident, I usually rank 3rd. Discipline those who rank 1st and 2nd first and come back," and "From now on, I hope the Ethics Committee will also be included in the public opinion polls."

This statement implies that floor leader Kwon Seong-dong, lawmaker Jang Je-won, and other 'Yunhaekgwan (Yoon Seok-yeol's core associates)' bear responsibility for this incident. It also reveals the perception that the Ethics Committee is one of the parties responsible for this situation.

The People Power Party Central Ethics Committee stated in a press release on the day, "The People Power Party's parliamentary meeting on the 27th of last month, through the meeting results and a statement, strongly condemned and warned former party leader Lee Jun-seok's remarks such as 'dog meat,' 'sheep's head with dog meat,' and 'new military regime,' which caused humiliation to party members, and respected the opinion urging the Ethics Committee to promptly handle additional disciplinary actions."

Furthermore, the Ethics Committee explained, "The Ethics Committee was formed to strengthen the party's ethical awareness, maintain discipline, and promote party spirit. One of its main functions is to discipline and deliberate on party members who violate the party constitution, party regulations, and ethical rules or have other misconduct." It added, "According to the authority granted by the party constitution, the Ethics Committee can discipline acts extremely harmful to the party, acts violating the party constitution, party regulations, and ethical rules that hinder party development, or acts that cause alienation of public sentiment as a result."

The Ethics Committee also emphasized, "To resolve the unprecedented political situation triggered by the court partially accepting former leader Lee's 'injunction for suspension of effect' application, suspending the duties of the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson until the final judgment is confirmed, we strongly urge People Power Party members to participate in forming a healthy political discussion culture with more mature and refined language and expressions through procedures according to the party constitution and regulations."

It continued, "While the public may have various evaluations, 'baseless political claims' that attribute the Ethics Committee's decisions to 'political manipulation' based on personal speculation and judgment are clearly different from making diverse evaluations of the Ethics Committee's deliberations and resolutions." It added, "The freedom of political expression is a fundamental right that should be guaranteed not only to People Power Party members but also to all citizens. However, for the People Power Party to continue developing as a party trusted and supported by the public, party members must not forget that they are required by the public to bear a more serious 'political responsibility' regarding 'freedom of political expression' than ordinary citizens."

Meanwhile, on the same day, Lee's side submitted an injunction application to the Seoul Southern District Court to prohibit the holding of the National Committee meeting. Earlier, the People Power Party decided to hold a Standing National Committee on the 2nd and a National Committee on the 5th, centered on Vice Chairperson Yoon Doo-hyun, replacing the resigned National Committee Chairperson Seo Byung-soo, and to establish a new emergency response committee by the 8th.

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