Kim Jae-won and Tae Young-ho Both Absent from Ruling Party's Supreme Council Meeting... Attention on Ethics Committee Disciplinary Action

The People Power Party's Supreme Council saw two members absent just a month and a half after its launch. Attention is focused on whether the party's Ethics Committee will take disciplinary action as Supreme Council members Kim Jaewon and Tae Youngho, who had caused controversy with consecutive verbal missteps, both did not attend the meeting.

Instead of attending the party's Supreme Council meeting held on the 20th, Supreme Council member Tae met with floor leader Yoon Jeok. After the meeting with Tae, Floor Leader Yoon told reporters, "We discussed the basic stance on how to respond to issues going forward with Representative Tae," and "I told him that the goodwill he thinks of may differ from the general perspective, so I hope he deeply considers the basic stance of the people."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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Earlier, Supreme Council member Tae sparked controversy by stating in a recently released monthly magazine interview that 'Baekbeom Kim Gu was outwitted by Kim Il-sung's united front strategy.' During last month's party convention, Tae also said that the 'Jeju 4.3 incident was triggered by orders from North Korea's Kim Il-sung,' drawing criticism both inside and outside the party.

However, Floor Leader Yoon drew a line regarding Tae's voluntary resignation, saying, "There was no such talk at all."

Previously, Supreme Council member Kim announced he would abstain from the Supreme Council meetings throughout April as a form of self-restraint due to his far-right remarks such as 'Opposing the inclusion of the May 18 spirit in the constitution' and 'Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon’s right-wing unification of the world.' Kim privately visited the Gwangju May 18 Democratic Cemetery to show an apology.

The People Power Party has dealt with members who caused damage to the party due to verbal controversies through disciplinary actions by the Ethics Committee. Former leader Lee Jun-seok had his party membership suspended for one year extended due to his 'sheep's head, dog meat' remark, and Representative Kim Sung-won was suspended for six months for inappropriate remarks at a flood disaster site.

Because of this, there is growing interest in whether the Ethics Committee will intervene regarding Supreme Council members Kim and Tae. The People Power Party recently appointed lawyer Hwang Jeong-geun as the new chair of the Ethics Committee and is proceeding with the appointment of other committee members. It is expected that the first agenda item for the Ethics Committee will be the disciplinary action against Supreme Council member Kim for his verbal missteps.

Secretary-General Lee Cheol-gyu appeared on KBS Radio the day before and said, "The Ethics Committee has been formed, and our party is not one where people who deviate from the public’s expectations and general thoughts are gathered," adding, "Therefore, if someone goes against the ideology, values, or solidarity our party pursues, it is naturally seen as a violation. Since the Ethics Committee has been formed, the chair and members will take appropriate measures."

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