Members of the People Power Party's private organization 'Alternative and Future,' including lawmakers Lee Seong-kwon and Kim Yong-tae, hold a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center in Yeouido, Seoul, on December 3rd of last year to apologize to the public regarding the December 3rd emergency martial law. [Photo=Yonhap News]Responsible party members and supporting citizens of the People Power Party have officially submitted a request for severe disciplinary action against all affiliated lawmakers and the immediate dissolution of the private organization 'Alternative and Future,' which is instigating division within the party, to the People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee on the 19th.

This signature campaign was conducted as an urgent online petition for a total of 44 hours from the 17th to the 19th. At the time of submission, 18,352 people had already participated, and the entire list of signatories, spanning hundreds of pages, was submitted to the Ethics Committee.

What is particularly noteworthy is the fact that even after the Ethics Committee's submission, the late-night signatures are continuing to surge at a rapid pace. As of the press release, a total of 20,000 people have joined the signature campaign in just three days, demonstrating the unprecedented anger and solidarity of the party members.

According to the request, it strongly condemned, "In this grave emergency situation where the party must unite against the constitutional violation by the Lee Jae-myung administration, lawmakers who should be leading the party's cohesion are instead falling into factional egoism and openly promoting internal division by issuing a statement calling for the leadership's resignation, which is a clear act of treason."

Furthermore, it meticulously criticized the series of harmful actions that the faction has committed, stating, "Those who directly denied the former party leader Han Dong-hoon's expulsion, which was lawfully decided by the party's ethics committee in the past, and committed collective defiance, have recently perpetrated an unprecedented act of insubordination by pressuring the resignation of Jang Dong-hyuk, the party leader who was legitimately elected by the party members, by putting forward Supreme Council members Yang Hyang-ja and Woo Jae-jun."

Accordingly, based on Article 8-3 of the party constitution (Principle of No Factionalism), which strictly prohibits factional politics within the party, and Article 20 of the party rules (Denial of Party Decisions and Disruption of Party Discipline), which strictly punishes acts that deny lawful party decisions, the responsible party members strongly urged two key points to the Central Ethics Committee.

1. Immediate dissolution of the internal factional private organization 'Alternative and Future,' which rejects the Ethics Committee's lawful decisions and shakes party democracy (Violation of Party Constitution Article 8-3 and Party Rules Article 20).

2. Severe punishment, including expulsion and suspension of party membership, for all participants of 'Alternative and Future,' including Supreme Council members Yang Hyang-ja and Woo Jae-jun, who led the pressure for the party leader's resignation, as well as lawmakers Lee Seong-kwon, Kwon Young-jin, Song Seok-jun, Park Jeong-ha, Kim Yong-tae, Kim Jae-seop, Ko Dong-jin, Kim So-hee, Kim Geon, Ahn Sang-hoon, and Yoo Yong-won.

A representative of the responsible party members who led this signature campaign emphasized, "Even after the news of the Ethics Committee's submission became known, spontaneous real-time signatures from angry party members and citizens are continuously coming in. If those who are leading the entire right-wing camp to mutual destruction are left as they are, party members will never stand by idly. We once again urge the Ethics Committee to make a firm and impartial decision."

Reporter Lim Yo-hee