Kim Jae-won and Tae Young-ho Disciplinary Level to Be Decided Today... "Comrades," Some Sympathy Expressed

Afternoon Decision on Disciplinary Measures for Kim Jaewon and Tae Youngho
Party Membership Suspension Over 1 Year Will Make Next Year's General Election Nomination Impossible

The People Power Party Ethics Committee is set to decide on the disciplinary actions against Supreme Council members Kim Jae-won and Tae Young-ho this afternoon (8th), drawing attention to the severity of the sanctions.

The Ethics Committee will hold its third meeting this afternoon at the Yeouido Central Party Office to hear the explanations from Kim and Tae and determine the final level of discipline.

The reasons for Kim's disciplinary review include his March 12 remarks at Sarang Jeil Church stating that "Presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol's promise to include the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Movement in the preamble of the Constitution was just to gain votes during the election," his lecture claiming that "Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church has unified the right-wing camp," and his statement that "the Jeju April 3 Incident memorial day is of low status."

Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party (left), and Tae Young-ho, Supreme Council Member, are attentively listening to the remarks of Supreme Council Member Jo Su-jin at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

For Supreme Council member Tae, the issues include SNS posts related to JMS, remarks about the Jeju April 3 Incident, and a controversy over a recorded conversation involving presidential office interference in party affairs during candidate nominations. Tae voluntarily requested the Ethics Committee review.

The key issue is the level of discipline. This disciplinary action is directly linked to next year's general election nominations. If a severe sanction suspending party membership for over a year is imposed, nomination for the general election would be impossible.

In this context, some voices of sympathy have emerged. People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun said, "Both are comrades who ran together during the 'regime change' of the People Power Party. They are comrades and partners, so is such a severe punishment necessary?" He raised his voice. On the 8th, on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Yoon said, "The current atmosphere is for a severe sanction. Severe discipline seems to mean suspending party membership for over a year."

Regarding Supreme Council member Tae, he said, "Our Republic of Korea has a political culture, and I have felt several times that (Tae) has not fully adapted to this political culture," adding, "In this regard, there may have been various difficulties or mistakes during the adaptation process. We should consider and judge these comprehensively."

About Supreme Council member Kim, he said, "He is also the same comrade," and added, "So to impose a severe sanction that prevents him from running in the general election? Although the current atmosphere may change a lot, personally, I find it very regrettable."

There is also an opinion that instead of disciplinary action by the party Ethics Committee, the two Supreme Council members should voluntarily resign. People Power Party lawmaker Lee Yong-ho said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' that "Rather than resolving the Supreme Council members' issues through the Ethics Committee, I think politicians need to solve these politically," adding, "Politicians bear some responsibility in difficult situations within the party, and if they show a willingness to resign as Supreme Council members in this context, it could open a political path forward."

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