Sang Byeong-heon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea from Sejong City, has been expelled from the party after being sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison in the first trial for allegedly sexually assaulting a fellow same-sex legislator.
The ethics committee of the Democratic Party of Korea's Sejong City chapter announced on the 5th that it would expel Sang Byeong-heon. The chapter explained, "The allegations of disciplinary wrongdoing have been acknowledged, leading to the expulsion based on Article 19 of the ethics committee regulations."
Ahead of the meeting that day, Sang submitted his resignation the previous day. However, the chapter viewed this as an attempt to evade disciplinary action.
The chapter noted, "Although Sang voluntarily resigned from the party, the party regulations stipulate that there are grounds for disciplinary action against members who resign for the purpose of evading punishment, and we can issue a decision confirming the grounds for disciplinary action against Sang," adding, "We plan to notify the decision document on the grounds for disciplinary action to the party membership qualification review committee."
Kang Jun-hyun, the chair of the Sejong City chapter, said, "I feel heavy responsibility and deeply reflect on the fact that a member of our party has betrayed the expectations of the citizens and caused such a decision," and emphasized, "This incident will serve as an opportunity to seriously reflect on the moral obligations of a public party."
The Sejong City Council is also moving forward with disciplinary action against Sang. The ethics subcommittee of the council voted on the expulsion proposal for Sang the previous day and presented it for the second plenary session of the council's 100th interim meeting scheduled for the 8th. If 14 out of the 20 council members, or more than two-thirds, approve, Sang will be expelled.
Meanwhile, Sang has been indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting a male fellow council member and was sentenced to 1 year and 6 months in prison in the first trial on July. However, the court did not arrest him in the courtroom on concerns over evidence destruction and to provide the opportunity for compensation to the victim.