Continuous Clarifications by Taeyoungho and Opposition Signatures by Kim Jaewon... Is Severe Disciplinary Action by the Ethics Committee Inevitable?

Party Ethics Committee to Review Disciplinary Action on the 8th Afternoon
Taeyoungho Continues to Address Allegations Following Press Conference
"Lack of Self-Restraint Seen as Negative Influence" Observers Say

The People Power Party's Ethics Committee is set to decide on the disciplinary actions against Supreme Council members Kim Jaewon and Tae Youngho on the 8th, with the possibility that the punishment for Supreme Council member Tae may be more severe.

The party's Ethics Committee plans to hold a disciplinary review at 4 p.m. at the People Power Party's central office. Both Supreme Council members are expected to attend the meeting and provide explanations regarding the agenda. The People Power Party also canceled the Supreme Council meeting scheduled for the morning of the same day, following the cancellation on the 4th. Chief Spokesperson Yoo Sangbeom explained in a notice the day before, "Since the Central Ethics Committee is scheduled for that day, we decided not to hold the Supreme Council meeting to dispel any misunderstandings or concerns related to the disciplinary procedures."

Previously, the Ethics Committee stated three reasons for disciplining Supreme Council member Kim: remarks that the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising was used by presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol in the preamble of the constitution to gain votes during the election, a lecture titled "Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon’s Right-wing Camp Unification," and a comment that the Jeju April 3 Incident memorial day is of a low standard. For Supreme Council member Tae, there were two reasons initially: posts related to JMS on social media and remarks about the Jeju April 3 Incident. However, during an emergency Ethics Committee meeting on the 3rd, the controversy over the "nomination recording" was added.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the 3rd, Supreme Council member Tae declared at a National Assembly press conference, "I will resolutely confront the attempt to destroy Tae Youngho," and has since been directly addressing the allegations daily. He announced that he would report his aide to the police over suspicions of leaked recordings the day before and explained the suspicion that he blocked his aide’s Sunday worship by saying, "I asked because they said it was difficult to work on Sundays." Regarding reports that he hired the child of a businessman active in his constituency as a youth aide, he refuted, saying, "There is no plausibility at all," and added, "Youth aides are not hired but recruited."

However, there is an interpretation that Supreme Council member Tae’s tough stance may negatively affect his disciplinary outcome. While Supreme Council member Kim officially apologized for his remarks and showed a month of self-restraint, Supreme Council member Tae has not ceased his official activities. A key party official said, "(Supreme Council member Tae) should not have held the press conference," adding, "Judges value self-restraint highly. Even if the same offense is committed, the sentence can differ by more than twice depending on whether one shows remorse or insists on innocence." Currently, there are expectations within and outside the party that both Supreme Council members could face suspension of party membership for six months to one year. If party membership is suspended for one year, the path to nomination in next year’s general election will be completely blocked.

Kim, who returned after a one-month suspension of public activities, also began to speak out ahead of the Ethics Committee’s decision. On the 6th, Kim posted on Facebook, citing a report that "half of the 20,000 party members who participated in the petition against the disciplinary action are fake," and clarified, "This is not true." He continued, "I sincerely thank the 11,731 People Power Party members and 9,994 general citizens who participated in the petition against the disciplinary action, which was organized by several leaders in a short period."

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo posted a message on Facebook that seemed to target the two Supreme Council members. He said, "When the Democratic Party makes a mistake, they put the party first and leave voluntarily to avoid harming the party, but our party members keep making excuses or insist they are not at fault based on unclear signatures from party members," adding, "They will recklessly file injunctions, but can they really carry out proper disciplinary actions with such fear?"

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