Jeong Cheong-rae, the representative of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on the 6th that he would expel lawmaker Lee Chun-seok. Lawmaker Lee, who was serving as the chairperson of the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee, has been replaced by six-term veteran lawmaker Choo Mi-ae.
Representative Jeong noted at the Supreme Council meeting on the 6th, "I am aware that there is great public concern regarding the allegations of undercover stock transactions involving lawmaker Lee Chun-seok, and according to Article 18 of the party regulations, if a party member facing disciplinary action leaves the party to evade punishment, the Ethics Committee at all levels may decide on a disciplinary action equivalent to expulsion. Furthermore, Article 19 allows the Ethics Committee to investigate whether any disciplinary grounds apply to the departed member and whether the statute of limitations for disciplinary action has elapsed, and in accordance with these regulations, I will initiate the expulsion of this lawmaker."
Lawmaker Lee Chun-seok was photographed on the 4th attending a National Assembly plenary session while conducting transactions of Naver and LG CNS stocks on his smartphone. He was trading stocks through an account registered under the name of his aide, Ms. Cha. The People Power Party filed a criminal complaint against him for violating the Financial Real Name Act and other allegations. The controversy intensified as lawmaker Lee was serving as the chair of the Economic Division 2 within the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning, responsible for establishing the artificial intelligence (AI) policies of the Lee Jae-myung administration, thus trading shares in AI beneficiaries Naver and LG CNS.
Representative Jeong said, "I am truly sorry to the public that such an incident occurred right after I took office as party leader, and I feel a heavy responsibility. I will ensure that the discipline of party-affiliated lawmakers is firmly established to prevent such incidents from happening in the future."
Lawmaker Choo Mi-ae has been appointed as the chairperson of the Judiciary Committee, which was previously held by lawmaker Lee. Floor leader Kim Byeong-ki stated, "I asked lawmaker Choo Mi-ae, who can lead the prosecution reform most skillfully, to take on the role of chairperson in relation to the prosecution reform."
Lawmaker Lee has also been dismissed from his position as chair of the Economic Division 2 of the Presidential Committee on Policy Planning. The Presidential Committee on Policy Planning held a briefing that morning, stating, "We plan to dismiss Economic Division 2 Chair Lee Chun-seok due to his resignation, and we have appointed Song Kyung-hee as the new chair of Economic Division 2."