The People Power Party Central Ethics Committee on the 18th began the disciplinary explanation process for Reps. Cho Kyung-tae, Seo Beom-su, Kwon Young-jin and Jin Jong-oh. The ethics panel that afternoon summoned the four lawmakers one by one at the central party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, to hear their explanations.
Rep. Jin Jong-oh, who appeared first, was referred to the ethics panel for helping independent candidate Han Dong-hoon instead of People Power Party candidate Park Min-sik in the Busan Buk-gap National Assembly by-election during the June 3 local elections. Jin said that instead of offering an explanation, he would file a motion to challenge members of the ethics committee.
Attorney Park Sang-su, who accompanied Jin as legal counsel, told reporters, "Under the party constitution and rules, you can file in advance a written motion to challenge an ethics committee member for whom it is difficult to expect an impartial judgment," and said, "If deliberations or explanation procedures proceed while a challengeable Commissioner is present, it could be unlawful."
Jin's side plans to submit the motion to challenge by midnight after checking the lineup of ethics committee members. The ethics panel will decide on the challenge. Jin said, "It was very regrettable and uncomfortable that the ethics panel itself asked, 'We will take this as not offering an explanation' when we raised a procedural objection to the ethics panel."
Rep. Cho Kyung-tae was referred for refusing to accept the results of the party's internal primary for National Assembly vice speaker in May and asking Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers to help defeat Vice Speaker Park Deok-heum. In Rep. Kwon Young-jin's case, he is accused of grabbing Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik by the collar while protesting the allocation of standing committees for the latter half of the 22nd National Assembly.
Rep. Seo Beom-su was referred for joking to Rep. Jin Jong-oh, "Try a roundhouse kick once," at a National Assembly roundtable on amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act on the 4th, which was attended by the victim of the Busan roundhouse kick case. However, the victim in the Busan roundhouse kick case decided to submit a petition to the ethics panel asking for leniency.
Depending on the level of discipline for the lawmakers, internal conflict within the People Power Party could reach a peak. For some lawmakers, heavy penalties such as suspension of party membership for more than a year or expulsion are also possible.