Park Sung-min "Kim Nam-guk's 'Surprise' Withdrawal? It's Transparent"

"Golden Time for Withdrawal Declaration Already Passed"
Ruling Party's Hwang Bo-seung-hee and Others Criticize In-House Appeasement

Former Democratic Party Supreme Council Member Park Sung-min commented on independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk's 'sudden withdrawal from the election' by saying, "Frankly speaking, it looks transparent," and evaluated, "From the outside, it seems like a signal from him to lower the severity of the Ethics Committee's disciplinary action."

Kim, who left the Democratic Party amid controversies over holding large amounts of virtual assets and trading during a National Assembly standing committee session, announced on the 22nd via Facebook his decision not to run in the 22nd general election about 45 minutes before the Ethics Special Committee subcommittee's disciplinary severity decision meeting. The Ethics Committee subcommittee postponed the vote on disciplinary measures against Kim to the 30th.

In response, former Supreme Council Member Park criticized that the golden time for the withdrawal announcement had already passed. On the 23rd, appearing on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' he said, "The right time to announce withdrawal was already before this," and pointed out, "When this controversy broke out, especially when it was revealed that trading occurred during the standing committee session, that was the time to announce withdrawal from the general election and simultaneously resign from the National Assembly. There was definitely such a golden time."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Supreme Council Member Park said, "But now that it has come to this point, legally speaking, it feels like waiting for a Supreme Court ruling," and added, "He had clear opportunities to take proper responsibility, not appeal, and receive a judgment?using a legal analogy, there were chances to do so?but expressing the will to go all the way to the end like this will make the public ask, 'Has he still not resigned?'"

He continued, "I understand that it is not easy to decide on expulsion for a colleague and party member," but emphasized, "This is not an issue to be dragged out." Former Supreme Council Member Park criticized, "Even within the People Power Party, the disciplinary actions against their own or former members who left the party, such as Hwang Bo-seung-hee, are not swift," and said, "Looking at these cases, one cannot help but think that leniency is clearly at work within the parliamentary floor."

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