The People Power Party Central Ethics Committee handed down disciplinary suspensions of party membership to four incumbent lawmakers, including Cho Kyung-tae, Jin Jong-oh, Kwon Young-jin and Seo Beom-su.
On the 20th, the People Power Party Central Ethics Committee said it held its 19th meeting and voted to suspend lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae's party membership for 2 years and 6 months, lawmaker Jin Jong-oh's for 2 years, lawmaker Kwon Young-jin's for 1 year and 6 months, and lawmaker Seo Beom-su's for 10 months.
Jin's disciplinary grounds included publicly supporting and promoting Han Dong-hoon, who ran as an independent after being expelled from the People Power Party, in the by-election for the Busan Buk-gu Gap National Assembly seat held alongside the 9th nationwide local elections, through broadcasts and social media (SNS). Sending his aides to a YouTube channel promoting Han's candidacy was also deemed an act that undermined party discipline.
At a roundtable on the 4th discussing problems with abolishing supplementary investigative authority, when Seo said, "Shall we try a roundhouse kick once," Jin replied, "I'm better with my hands than my feet," which was also included as grounds for discipline. The ethics committee judged that the remarks damaged the party's honor and ran counter to public sentiment.
Cho came under scrutiny for, after losing to lawmaker Park Deok-heum in the party primary to select the People Power Party's nominee for National Assembly vice speaker in May, sending a civic group's statement opposing Park to lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea, the Reform Party and The Progressive Party, and calling some lawmakers to ask for Park's defeat. The ethics committee viewed this as an act that undermined party order in defiance of the party line.
Kwon received a 1 year and 6 months suspension of party membership for using physical force, including grabbing Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sig by the collar and shouting, while protesting the allocation of standing committee seats at the floor leader's office in the main National Assembly building last month. The ethics committee said that although Kwon later apologized and reflected on the wrongdoing, the act betrayed the dignity expected of a lawmaker and damaged the party's honor and prestige.
Seo received a 10-month suspension of party membership for saying to Jin at the roundtable on the 4th, "Shall we try a roundhouse kick once." The ethics committee judged the remark to be inappropriate, as it could be seen as making light of the pain of the victim in the "Busan roundhouse kick case."