People Power Party lawmakers Cho Kyeong-tae (from left), Jin Jong-oh, and Kwon Young-jin [Photo by Bae Jae-man, Shin Hyun-woo, Hwang Kwang-mo]

On the 27th, the People Power Party’s Central Ethics Committee held a plenary session and initiated disciplinary proceedings against six-term lawmaker Cho Kyeong-tae, pro-Han (pro-Han Dong-hoon) first-term lawmaker Jin Jong-oh, and two-term lawmaker Kwon Young-jin.

This move realizes the "politics of discipline" aimed at establishing internal party order, which Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk had signaled shortly after the June 3 local elections. It is expected to lead to internal strife due to the intense conflict between the party leadership and the anti-Jang faction.

The People Power Party Ethics Committee announced through a press release that it held a closed-door meeting at an undisclosed location in Yeouido starting at 2:00 p.m. that day and reached the decision.

This was the third meeting held since the June 3 local elections. Despite speculations that initiating disciplinary action might be difficult because only three out of five members—including Ethics Committee Chairman Yoon Min-woo, excluding those who resigned—attended, it appears the committee proceeded with the decision as the quorum was met.

Six-term lawmaker Cho Kyeong-tae, the most senior member of the party, was referred to the Ethics Committee for allegedly calling lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea and other parties to campaign against Park Duck-hyum during the parliamentary plenary session held to elect the opposition-held Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly.

First-term proportional representative Jin Jong-oh, classified as a pro-Han faction member, was referred to the committee for supporting independent candidate Han Dong-hoon in the Busan Buk-gap by-election despite the presence of a People Power Party candidate. Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk had previously ordered an investigation into the matter after media reports surfaced that Jin had secured housing in Busan Buk-gap to assist Han's campaign.

While there had been speculation both inside and outside the party that a large number of pro-Han lawmakers who accompanied Han during his Daegu schedule last March—including Kim Ye-ji, An Sang-hoon, Jin Jong-oh, Jung Sung-kook, Bae Hyun-jin, Woo Jae-jun, and Park Jung-hoon—might face disciplinary action, it appears the committee chose Jin as the primary target instead of widening the "front," as he had publicly disclosed securing housing and sent aides to assist the campaign.

Two-term Daegu lawmaker Kwon Young-jin was referred to the committee for causing a disturbance by questioning the criteria for the distribution of second-half National Assembly standing committees, and for confronting Floor Leader Jung Jeom-sik with loud protests and grabbing his collar.

The party leadership had reached a consensus at the Supreme Council meeting earlier that day to recommend Kwon's voluntary departure from the party, stating that if he refused, they would pursue the highest level of discipline, including expulsion. It is reported that the Ethics Committee decided to initiate disciplinary proceedings independently, regardless of the leadership's stance.

Since Kwon has been active in the reform-oriented group "Alternatives and Future" and has called for Chairman Jang's resignation, some have suggested that the "rapid-fire" disciplinary decision was made under Jang's leadership. However, the party leadership maintains that it is "a matter of establishing party order, and is a completely separate issue with no connection."

Considering previous disciplinary precedents set by the committee, it is expected that a decision on whether to impose disciplinary measures will be reached by next month at the latest, following a process of hearing from the individuals involved.

The Ethics Committee can impose disciplinary actions such as ▲ expulsion, ▲ recommendation to leave the party, ▲ suspension of party membership, or ▲ a warning.

Although party rules allow for bypassing the hearing process with a majority vote of the members present, it is expected that the committee will follow procedural requirements, especially since previous decisions against pro-Han lawmakers Bae Hyun-jin and former Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyuk were invalidated by court injunctions suspending their efficacy.

A party official told Yonhap News, "Now that the disciplinary procedure has been initiated, we will send questionnaires, hear their explanations, and then discuss the necessity and level of disciplinary action at a future meeting to make a final decision." [Yonhap News]