Kim Byung-min "Opposition missed filing lawsuit against Kim Nam-guk... Fell into Nam-guk's sea"

Regarding the Democratic Party's decision to file a complaint with the National Assembly Ethics Committee against Rep. Kim Nam-guk, who left the party amid suspicions involving billions of coins, Kim Byung-min, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, pointed out that "there was a slight misstep."

On the 18th, Kim said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "There was enough time within the party to strongly address Rep. Kim's ethical issues."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "However, the Democratic Party opened a back door for Rep. Kim to escape by leaving the party, which caused the party's own promised internal investigation to fall apart, and the complete sale of Rep. Kim's coins also became meaningless. Now that they are talking about the Ethics Committee, they say it takes time to follow the proper procedures," he criticized.

Kim said, "From the public's perspective, if the Democratic Party truly intended to discipline Rep. Kim Nam-guk, they could have immediately activated internal ethical judgment and taken strong measures such as expulsion. But since they have not done so and are instead delaying, it raises considerable suspicion that they are just buying time."

Kim also pointed out that the Democratic Party's filing of the complaint with the Ethics Committee alone is insufficient. He said, "We need to see what choices the Democratic Party makes from now on," referring to last year when the Democratic Party swiftly referred a disciplinary motion to the plenary session and approved a 30-day suspension against then-rank-and-file member Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, for occupying the committee chairman's office.

He emphasized that it remains to be seen whether the Democratic Party will respond as promptly to Rep. Kim's case as it did to Kim Ki-hyun's, especially if a disciplinary motion such as expulsion is proposed by the Ethics Committee. The expulsion motion requires a two-thirds majority of the total members present in the plenary session to pass. Without the Democratic Party's 'resolve,' the expulsion motion against Rep. Kim may not pass in the plenary session.

Kim said, "The Democratic Party showed that level of action against Leader Kim Ki-hyun in the past, but now the situation with Rep. Kim has escalated to a point of widespread public outrage. The Democratic Party should demonstrate that same level of determination."

Within the Democratic Party, voices defending Rep. Kim continue to emerge, with some evaluations stating, "They couldn't even cross the river of Cho Kuk, but now the sea of Nam-guk has come." Regarding this, Kim said, "Within the Democratic Party, the hardline supporters are still sending messages defending and supporting Rep. Kim, and former Rep. Son Hye-won has stepped forward to protect him. The atmosphere feels very similar to the Cho Kuk incident," adding, "The criticism that the Democratic Party has fallen into the sea of Nam-guk rather than the river of Cho Kuk is very valid."

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