Democratic Party Hit by '6 Billion Coin in Money Envelope' Scandal, Holding Renewal General Assembly Until Late Night on the 14th

Discussion on Measures to Prevent Recurrence of Controversy
Promotion of Public Officials Ethics Act Including Virtual Asset Property Reporting

The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to hold a reform party meeting on the 14th. The party plans to conduct opinion polls targeting the public, party members, and lawmakers, and then engage in in-depth discussions on reform measures. The party's floor leadership has also decided to expedite the revision of the Public Officials Ethics Act to include virtual assets in the declaration of public officials' property, in connection with the controversy surrounding Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk's virtual asset issues.

On the 9th, Park Kwang-on, the Democratic Party floor leader, said at a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly, "The reform party meeting is scheduled to take place from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the 14th," adding, "Based on the measures instructed to lawmakers during the first party meeting and the results of opinion polls conducted from today targeting the public, party members, and lawmakers, we will hold focused discussions and prepare reform measures to report to the public." It is expected that discussions will cover controversies such as the exchange of money envelopes during the 2021 Democratic Party convention and the delayed party reform discussions following the presidential election defeat.

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

After the meeting, Kim Han-gyu, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, explained, "Various issues have recently arisen, and the purpose is to share awareness of these problems and discuss measures to prevent recurrence."

A workshop will also be separately promoted. Spokesperson Kim said, "The workshop schedule has not been finalized yet, but we plan to hold it around the end of this month. We need to coordinate with lawmakers' schedules and the party leadership, so the date has not been set." He added, "The workshop will additionally discuss matters raised during the reform party meeting."

Meanwhile, voices urging the prompt legislation related to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk's virtual asset controversy were reportedly discussed within the floor leadership. Democratic Party floor spokesperson Lee So-young said, "There was an opinion to swiftly amend the Public Officials Ethics Act," adding, "Since virtual assets are not currently included in the disclosure requirements under the Public Officials Ethics Act, a bill to add them promptly has been proposed. There was an opinion to reach bipartisan agreement and quickly handle this in the Public Administration and Security Committee, and there were no objections, so it is expected to be discussed accordingly."

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