Democratic Party Files Ethics Complaint Against Kim Nam-guk Three Days After His Resignation

Lee Jae-myung Orders at Expanded Executive Meeting
Leadership Feels Crisis Amid Rising Criticism
Disagreement Remains Between Ruling and Opposition on Disciplinary Procedures

Three days after leaving the Democratic Party, Representative Kim Nam-guk, formerly of the Democratic Party, was referred to the National Assembly Ethics Committee by the Democratic Party.

On the afternoon of the 17th, the Democratic Party submitted a disciplinary proposal against Representative Kim to the National Assembly Secretariat. This was in accordance with the direct instruction from Representative Lee Jae-myung at a closed expanded executive meeting held that day.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

According to Democratic Party spokesperson Park Sung-jun, Representative Lee said, "Since Representative Kim admitted to trading coins (virtual assets) during committee activity hours, it is necessary to refer him to the Ethics Committee to strictly hold him accountable for his responsibility to comply with public official ethical standards."

It is interpreted that the party judged it inappropriate to delay the Ethics Committee referral amid the People Power Party's proposal to submit a joint disciplinary plan the previous day. Following allegations of Representative Kim's virtual asset trading, criticism has intensified, with approval ratings dropping by 9 to 12 percentage points mainly among the 20s and 30s age groups, increasing the party leadership's sense of crisis.

Spokesperson Park said, "We planned to promote the Ethics Committee referral after reviewing the party-level fact-finding investigation results, but since the prosecution is conducting a search and seizure related to Representative Kim's coin trading, there are limitations," adding, "As the party's investigation is expected to take considerable time, we judged that it is appropriate to refer the case to the Ethics Committee without delay, so we decided to proceed with the referral."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, there are differences of opinion between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the disciplinary procedure. On the morning of the same day, Lee Cheol-gyu, Secretary-General of the People Power Party, said on KBS Radio that the disciplinary level of the Ethics Committee "could go as far as expulsion." Lee Yang-su, the senior deputy floor leader of the People Power Party, also proposed at the Ethics Committee plenary meeting that "the advisory committee of the Ethics Committee should be skipped and the expulsion proposal for Representative Kim should be immediately submitted to the plenary session."

Democratic Party Representative Kim Jong-min said on SBS Radio that "Even based on the revealed facts, the fact that a member of the National Assembly increased their assets by nearly 1 billion won through coin investments within 2 to 3 years is itself incompatible with the duties of a National Assembly member."

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