Jin Jong-oh of the People Power Party held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 21st and strongly pushed back, saying he "never engaged in any act of disloyalty."

Jin Jong-oh, a lawmaker who receives a party membership suspension from the Central Ethics Committee of the People Power Party, holds a press conference at the National Assembly's Press Center in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 21st to state his position on the ethics penalty./Courtesy of News1

The People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee the previous day voted to impose a heavy penalty on Rep. Jin, suspending his party membership for two years. It cited supporting independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon in the last local election and making an inappropriate joke at a meeting attended by the victim of the Busan roundhouse-kick case.

At the press conference, Jin said, "I only heeded the public's call to gather the conservative asset, including former leader Han Dong-hoon (an independent lawmaker), to properly keep the Lee Jae-myung administration in check," adding, "The ethics panel should clearly and fully disclose when and how I publicly supported Rep. Han."

Beyond Rep. Jin, the party ethics panel also handed down suspensions of party membership to Rep. Cho Kyung-tae for 2 years and 6 months, Rep. Kwon Young-jin for 1 year and 6 months, and Rep. Seo Beom-soo for 10 months. Because these heavy penalties could affect their bids for the April 2028 general election, not only the disciplined members but also senior party figures are saying they are inappropriate.

Rep. Kwon Young-jin said on CBS radio that day, "Ahead of the election, Leader Jang spent 200 million won in party dues to go to the United States to shoot a photo spread and made the party a laughingstock, and is the person who engaged in acts of disloyalty the most." Rep. Seo Beom-soo also said in a statement the previous day, "I hope this was not a predetermined 'answer-only' discipline meant to eliminate political rivals."

Senior members unrelated to the disciplinary actions also spoke up. Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun pointed out on Facebook that day, "There are concerns this is the start of disciplinary politics aimed at removing political rivals." Kim Jae-won, a pro-leadership Supreme Council member, said on SBS radio, "It is worrisome to resolve internal party issues through discipline," but added, "Since this is discipline for personal activities that dealt a huge blow to the party's direction and operations, I do not see it as related to an anti-Leader Jang campaign."

Five-term Rep. Kwon Young-se also said on CBS radio, "If I were the ethics committee chair, it would be better to make it symbolic at about six months; doing it like this is excessive."

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