At Kim Nam-guk's Attendance at the Education Committee, Cho Kyung-tae Protests, "Has the Democratic Party Fallen This Far?"

Kim Nam-guk Attends First Meeting After Moving to Education Committee
Ruling Party Calls It "A Mess," Opposition Asks "Is Your Party Okay?" in Heated Debate

Independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk faced strong opposition from ruling party members for attending the full meeting of the National Assembly's Education Committee on the 12th. Kim moved his affiliated standing committee from the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to the Education Committee amid allegations of holding a large amount of cryptocurrency.

On the day, Kim attended the Education Committee full meeting. This was his first attendance at a National Assembly standing committee meeting since leaving the Democratic Party due to the coin allegations.

People Power Party lawmaker Jo Kyung-tae (center) is requesting a procedural speech regarding the attendance of independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk at the Education Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 12th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding this, ruling and opposition members of the Education Committee engaged in a heated debate. Jo Kyung-tae, a member of the People Power Party, criticized Kim as soon as he appeared in the meeting room, saying, "You shouldn't be here," "How can you look after the Education Committee? You should think about our children," and "The Education Committee... is going to be a complete mess." Despite Jo's protests, Kim showed no particular reaction and reviewed the meeting materials at his seat.

When Jo continued to protest, saying, "You should have a conscience," Moon Jung-bok, a Democratic Party member sitting opposite, engaged in the argument, saying, "Oh, lawmaker. Are you really going to do this?"

Jo shouted, "If you were reported to the National Assembly Ethics Committee, you should reflect on yourself," and "Politics requires conscience and common sense," while Moon replied, "What are you talking about? Please don't do that."

When Jo repeatedly criticized, "How did the Democratic Party become so ruined like this?" Moon fired back, "Then is your party okay?" continuing the heated exchange.

The two lawmakers exchanged insults, saying, "You've been elected five times," and "Can a first-term lawmaker be so lacking in conscience?" "Ah, this is embarrassing," blaming each other.

After the meeting began, Kim greeted, "I was in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and now I will be active for the first time in the Education Committee. I will continue to carry out sincere activities in the Education Committee."

Jo requested to make a procedural statement and continued his protest, but it was not accepted. Yoo Ki-hong, chairman of the Education Committee, asked Jo to restrain himself, saying, "As a five-term lawmaker, please maintain your dignity."

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