The People Power Party will convene a full meeting of the Ethics Committee on the 6th to review disciplinary motions submitted by party members before and after the June 3 local elections. There is a possibility that discipline will be imposed on pro-Han lawmakers who accompanied independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who was expelled from the party, on his campaign schedule. If that happens, there are concerns that internal conflict within the party will deepen.
Pro-Han lawmakers were reported to be the Ethics Committee's top priority for discipline. In March, lawmakers Kim Ye-ji, Ahn Sang-hoon, Jin Jong-oh, Jung Sung-kook, Bae Hyun-jin, Woo Jae-joon, and Park Jung-hoon, who accompanied Han on his Daegu schedule, were said to have been placed on the list of those to be disciplined. In addition, lawmakers belonging to the reform-minded group "Alternative and Future," which publicly urged Chair Jang Dong-hyeok to step down, and lawmaker Kim Jae-seop, who served as co-chair of the campaign committee for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, may also be subject to discipline.
The Ethics Committee can impose penalties such as expulsion, recommendation to leave the party, suspension of party membership, and warning. Earlier, on Jan. 6, Yoon Min-woo, a professor at Gachon University, was elected as chair of the Ethics Committee. On the 13th of the same month, the committee expelled former Chair Han Dong-hoon over the so-called party members' message board incident.
Senior party members are expressing concern over Chair Jang's so-called "disciplinary politics." Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sig appeared on KBS on the 2nd and said, "We must be prudent from the initiation of disciplinary procedures to the conclusion." Lawmaker Na Kyung-won also said on SBS on the 2nd, "It is not desirable to do politics through discipline."