Cho Eung-cheon vs Kim Nam-guk verbal battle escalates... "Isn't it disguised party defection?" vs "Are you leading the demonization of party members?"

Jo Eung-cheon "Why Does an Independent Interfere in Another Party's Affairs?"
Kim Nam-guk "Is Criticizing a Member of the National Assembly Interfering in Party Affairs?"

Rep. Cho Eung-cheon of the Democratic Party and Rep. Kim Nam-guk, an independent lawmaker, engaged in a heated exchange over whether to discipline the so-called 'approval faction' lawmakers who are presumed to have voted in favor of the arrest motion against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

Rep. Cho criticized independent Rep. Kim for making statements on social media (SNS) about key party issues, calling it 'interference in party affairs.' In response, Rep. Kim fired back, asking, "Why is criticizing a member of the National Assembly considered interference in party affairs?"

On the 18th, Rep. Kim wrote on his SNS, "Interference in party affairs? If criticizing certain lawmakers is interference in party affairs, then criticizing President Yoon Suk-yeol would be 'interference in state affairs,' and criticizing Joe Biden (President of the United States) would be 'interference in internal affairs.' Honestly, just admit it: 'I am afraid of losing the primary,' 'I don't want to be criticized and will only criticize,' 'I want to continue being a lawmaker at all costs,'" raising his voice.

Independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party of Korea amid controversy over virtual asset (cryptocurrency) trading, is leaving his office at the National Assembly on the 31st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The 'certain lawmakers' mentioned by Rep. Kim refer to the approval faction. Having been embroiled in allegations of cryptocurrency trading and subsequently leaving the Democratic Party, he has repeatedly targeted the approval faction through SNS even after his departure.

On the 5th, he said, "A small number of people, unhappy, threatened the party leader elected by the people and party members with an arrest motion to force him down. I really cannot understand how they can shamelessly talk about a democratic party." On the 10th, he stated, "It's like setting fire to the house you live in and then saying you will see how well the head of the household, who is desperately working with all his might, can put out the fire."

On the same day, he also wrote on SNS, "I have never seen these people step forward first, sacrifice themselves, take responsibility, and do something. They only demand things from Democratic Party members, fight when refused, lead the charge in demonizing party members by riding on conservative media, and absurdly claim that this is party loyalty. They even go so far as to expect gratitude for their efforts. So, I sincerely think it is right to send them home with thanks," he said.

Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon attended the "Democratic Party Reflection and Innovation Continuous Forum" held at the National Assembly on July 26 and presented on the topic of "Reflection and Lessons from Five and a Half Years of Democratic Party Governance." Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Earlier, Rep. Cho said on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' "Rep. Kim has been increasingly interfering in party affairs lately and criticizing the approval faction on SNS, despite being an independent. Is he really an independent now? Why is he meddling in another party's affairs? This is why people call it a disguised party exit. I told Floor Leader Hong Ik-pyo that this action is necessary."

He added, "The Ethics Committee subcommittee voted 3 to 3, resulting in rejection of disciplinary action against Rep. Kim. It is appropriate to refer this to the full committee now, ask the opinions of all Ethics Committee members, and quickly decide whether to expel him."

The verbal clash between the two lawmakers also reflects the divided public opinion within the Democratic Party regarding discipline for the approval faction. The pro-Lee Jae-myung faction is raising their voices for the need to discipline the approval faction, while the anti-Lee faction argues that discipline is unjust. The party leadership has drawn a line by saying, "We cannot distinguish the approval faction, and even if we do, it is not desirable to take any disciplinary action against them," while leaving open the possibility of disciplining for 'relevant acts.'

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