The Democratic Party of Korea submitted a disciplinary motion against Kweon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, to the National Assembly on the 8th. This action was taken following allegations raised in recent media reports that Rep. Kweon received a large amount of illegal political funds from a senior official of the Unification Church. Some interpret the submission of the disciplinary motion as a countermeasure by the Democratic Party to defend itself against being put on the defensive in moral debates over the 'Lee Chun-seok stock name transaction allegations' and to regain its initiative.
Park Sang-hyuk, the floor spokesperson, met with reporters in front of the National Assembly's main building in the morning, stating, "It has been revealed that certain religious groups such as Shincheonji and the Unification Church are interfering in party politics and undermining democracy," adding, "There have been media reports suggesting that Rep. Kweon received political funds from the leader of the Unification Church and related parties, so the Democratic Party believes this clearly constitutes a disciplinary cause under the National Assembly Act."
It has been reported that the special prosecutor, Kim Keon-hee, has secured evidence that Rep. Kweon received political funds from Yun, a former Deputy Minister and 'second-in-command' of the Unification Church. Notably, the day before, it was reported by JTBC that while the special prosecutor was summoning and investigating Rep. Kweon's related allegations, Kweon's camp attempted to make a call to the individual involved. It has come to light that Kweon's aides mistakenly called a delivery driver, intending to connect with Yun. Suspicions have arisen that Kweon's camp called to grasp the situation of the special prosecutor's investigation. Rep. Kweon is wholly denying any monetary transactions and inappropriate relationships, rebutting that it is political maneuvering.
The disciplinary motion was signed by all members of the Democratic Party's floor leadership. Spokesperson Kim Hyun-jeong emphasized, "It has been confirmed that the second-in-command of the Unification Church contacted Rep. Kweon after being investigated, and there are suspicions that the funds were used for former presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol's election campaign, making this matter substantial and not trivial."
Currently, the National Assembly's Ethics Special Committee has not been launched due to differing opinions between the ruling and opposition parties regarding its composition. Park noted, "There are several disciplinary issues to be addressed. Given the high national demand to handle these matters, we will strongly urge the People Power Party to engage in discussions."
The Democratic Party has already completed criminal complaints related to the allegations against Rep. Kweon. Separately, they stated their position to discuss amendments to the special prosecutor law or the expansion of the investigation scope. Floor spokesperson Kim remarked, "We are currently operating a Task Force for the three major special prosecutors and are examining additional inclusions, planning to introduce a bill to expand the scope of the special prosecutor investigation if necessary."
There is also a perspective that the Democratic Party's submission of the disciplinary motion against Kweon Seong-dong is a countermeasure to the 'Lee Chun-seok incident'. As the People Power Party raises the level of attacks on the Democratic Party's moral issues through the 'Lee Chun-seok incident', the Democratic Party has mounted a counterattack.
In fact, the People Power Party is showing signs of broadening the front by defining the Lee Chun-seok incident as a 'National Policy Gate'.
Floor leader Song Eon-seok remarked in a party meeting that morning, "The Democratic Party's late decision to expel an independent member who has already resigned from the party is a disciplinary action akin to 'closing the barn door after the horse has bolted,'" and added, "The important thing is not the membership of this member, but revealing the reality of the 'Lee Chun-seok Gate,' which is a national disgrace crime." The People Power Party submitted a party motion to investigate allegations related to this member the previous day and is also calling for a comprehensive investigation into name transactions by the National Planning and Coordination Agency, the presidential office, and all members of the National Assembly.