Cho Kyoung-tae, Kwon Young-jin, Seo Beom-su, and Jin Jong-oh Suspended from Party Membership Rights

[Financial News] The People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee handed down severe disciplinary action on the 20th against lawmakers Cho Kyoung-tae, Kwon Young-jin, Seo Beom-su, and Jin Jong-oh. Cho will be suspended from party membership rights for two years and six months, Kwon for one year and six months, Seo for 10 months, and Jin for two years. As all four are non-mainstream lawmakers who have called for party leader Jang Dong-hyuk to resign, the move is likely to deepen internal strife.
The committee said it held a meeting that day and decided to suspend the party membership rights of Cho, Kwon, Seo, and Jin.
Cho Kyoung-tae was first suspended from party membership rights for two years and six months for allegedly helping block Park Deok-heum, a fellow party lawmaker, from being elected Vice Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea. He reportedly asked lawmakers from other parties, including DPK, the Reform Party, and the Progressive Party, to help defeat Park through text messages and phone calls. The committee explained the punishment by saying he had "acted against the party's rules and order."
Kwon was referred to the committee after he angrily protested the allocation of standing committees in the second half of the National Assembly in July, grabbing Jeong Jeom-sig by the collar. The committee said, "The person subject to discipline formally apologized to Jeong and reflected on his wrongdoing, but the use of physical force was conduct that abandoned the dignity expected of a Member of the National Assembly." It added that he had "damaged the party's honor and prestige."
Seo received a 10-month suspension from party membership rights over a remark he made on the 4th at a meeting opposing the abolition of supplementary investigative powers, which was attended by a victim of the Busan Roundhouse Kick Case. He told Jin, "Let's do a roundhouse kick once," and Jin replied, "I use my hands better than my feet." The committee said the comment was "an inappropriate remark that could be seen as trivializing the suffering of the victim of the Busan Roundhouse Kick Case, damaging the party's honor and running counter to public sentiment."
Jin was suspended from party membership rights for two years for publicly supporting Han Dong-hoon, who ran as an independent candidate in the June 3 by-election for the Busan Buk-gu-gap constituency. His remark at the meeting for victims of the Busan Roundhouse Kick Case, saying, "I use my hands better than my feet," also drew criticism. The committee said he had "violated the party's rules and order by publicly promoting and supporting Han Dong-hoon, who was expelled from the People Power Party and ran as an independent through broadcasts and social media, and by dispatching aides to a YouTube channel promoting Han Dong-hoon." It added that he "damaged the party's honor and acted against public sentiment by giving an inappropriate response at the meeting."
With many non-mainstream lawmakers who have demanded that Jang step down now facing the risk of suspension from party membership rights, the dispute is likely to escalate into an internal conflict within the People Power Party. Jang is also expected to face criticism that he has engaged in "expulsion politics for the sake of a purge." Discussion on the matter is expected at the party's lawmakers' general meeting on the 21st.
[email protected] Lee Hae-ram Reporter