Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon visited the National Assembly to state his position on the party Central Ethics Committee's decision to expel him. Comparing the expulsion to "martial law," Han said the ethics committee conducted the meeting with a predetermined conclusion. He also said that even if the top council votes to expel him, he would not seek a retrial.
On the 14th, at the National Assembly press center, Han held a news conference and said, "(The ethics committee's expulsion) is like another form of martial law that destroys democracy and the Constitution," adding, "Just as President Lee Jae-myung used Baek Hae-ryong, Representative Jang Dong-hyeok used people like Lee Ho-seon and Yoon Min-woo to reach this conclusion."
He went on, "This issue is something Representative Jang is doing to purge me, who blocked martial law. Let's be a bit honest, Representative Jang," adding, "I will do my utmost together with the public and party members to block this with the same resolve as when we blocked martial law."
Han also said, "The ethics committee changed the core content of the written decision twice. Expelling me even as they changed it means the answer was already set," adding, "I don't know what meaning there would be in applying for a retrial with that ethics committee. I have no intention of applying for a retrial."
In fact, after voting to expel the former leader, the ethics committee corrected details of the decision at "10:11 a.m. on the 14th" and "12:06 p.m. on the 14th." Through the correction, the committee said, "Whether the disciplined person personally wrote the post, or whether another person used the disciplined person's name to write the post, is a matter that should be clarified in the investigative process by law enforcement," adding, "Based on the audit committee's findings, we confirmed posts presumed to be from an account in the name of the disciplined person's family."
Asked whether he received notice of being referred for discipline by the ethics committee, he emphasized, "Late in the afternoon, toward evening, the day before the meeting, I received a text message from an unknown number notifying me that I had been referred to the ethics committee," adding, "Ordinarily, to provide a chance to explain, notice is given a week or at least five days in advance. Notifying me a day before and expelling a former party leader means it was predetermined. There are serious procedural violations."
On the controversy over disclosing the identities of ethics committee members, including Ethics Committee Chair Yoon Min-woo, he said, "The experience of being deeply involved with the Defense Security Command, the core of martial law, and serving as a special adviser to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) director who was arrested over martial law is a disclosed career," adding, "Ethics committee chairs have been people with social standing and legal knowledge or experience, but if someone connected to the Defense Security Command or the NIS suddenly becomes the ethics committee chair, isn't it necessary to understand that person?"