Jang Dong-hyuk "Tae Young-ho Disciplinary Action to Be Swift... Second Disciplinary Action Possible"

Ruling Party Floor Spokesperson, MBC Radio Interview
"Split Allegations Require Party Affairs Committee's Fact-Finding First"

Jang Dong-hyuk, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, predicted that the party's Ethics Committee's decision to merge the recent recording controversy into the disciplinary proceedings against Supreme Council Member Tae Young-ho means that "(the discipline against Supreme Council Member Tae) will be carried out swiftly."

In an interview on June 4th with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Spokesperson Jang said, "He is causing various burdens to the party, and the party is taking the multiple allegations very seriously."

Spokesperson Jang also suggested that depending on how the allegations of splitting donations are revealed, there could be a second disciplinary action against Supreme Council Member Tae. He explained, "Some facts regarding the recordings have been identified, and there appear to be inappropriate parts in the position Tae Young-ho announced, so we requested a merger. However, since the splitting allegations require fact-checking before discipline can be imposed, the Party Audit Committee must first verify the facts."

He added, "If the Party Audit Committee delays fact verification on the splitting allegations, we cannot indefinitely postpone discipline on the other allegations, so there is a possibility of first and second disciplinary actions."

Jang Dong-hyeok, Floor Spokesperson of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding Supreme Council Member Tae's statement at a press conference the previous day that he would "track down the person who leaked the recordings," Spokesperson Jang said that legal issues could arise depending on who leaked them. He explained, "We must first determine whether the leaker was the conversation partner or a third party. If it was a third party, not the conversation partner, legal issues could arise."

When the host asked, "Are you suggesting the possibility of eavesdropping by a third party?" Spokesperson Jang replied, "It is not eavesdropping; the conversation partner recorded it, but if a third party received and leaked it, there could be legal issues different from those if the conversation partner leaked it."

Regarding the opposition's allegations of 'interference in the presidential office's candidate selection,' he said, "We need to look more closely at whether Lee Jin-bok, the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, was speaking on the premise of candidate selection or if he or someone with authority made demands in exchange for candidacy. However, based solely on the conversation content, I think there is controversy over whether it should be viewed that way."

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