[Anchor]
The People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee is set to discuss whether to take disciplinary action against party members who supported independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon. There are signs that internal conflict is intensifying due to the potential disciplinary proceedings and backlash within the party.
Reporter Park Chan-beom has the story.
[Reporter]
The People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee will hold a meeting at the party headquarters this afternoon, July 6, to discuss whether to initiate disciplinary procedures against the accused party lawmakers.
The Ethics Committee previously decided to discipline Representative Bae Hyun-jin, a pro-Han Dong-hoon figure, in February. This marks the committee's reactivation after five months.
[Jang Dong-hyuk / People Power Party Leader (June 26, Maeil Shinmun YouTube 'Lee Dong-jae's News Cabinet'): I believe it is time to provide an answer, regardless of what that conclusion may be.]
More than 30 incumbent lawmakers have been reported for disciplinary action by party figures and supporters aligned with leader Jang Dong-hyuk.
These individuals are primarily pro-Han lawmakers and members of 'Alternatives and Future,' a group consisting of first and second-term lawmakers.
In particular, the disciplinary blade is expected to target pro-Han lawmakers who supported Han Dong-hoon, who ran as an independent candidate in the Busan Buk-gap district during the June 3 by-elections.
Within the Ethics Committee, there is a prevailing view that if it is confirmed that they supported Han instead of the party's official nominee, Park Min-sik, it should be considered an act of harming the party.
[Jin Jong-oh / People Power Party Lawmaker (April 23, SBS Radio 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show'): (People seem to think, 'You are going to Busan to support former leader Han Dong-hoon, right?') Yes, to be blunt, that is true.]
The perspective is that while former five-term lawmaker Suh Byung-soo left the party, supporting Han while remaining a member of the People Power Party is an issue that cannot be overlooked. As leader Jang's reactivation of "disciplinary politics" faces growing opposition, the party's internal conflict could escalate in earnest.
Senior party members are voicing their concerns.
[Yoon Sang-hyun / People Power Party Lawmaker: What our party needs is not a competition of sanctions, but a competition of innovation. Politics should be resolved through politics...]
Sharp criticism has also been raised, with some claiming the Ethics Committee is acting as a "hunting dog" to remove political rivals on behalf of leader Jang. A key official from the Ethics Committee refuted this to SBS, stating, "We are not hunting dogs, but wolves that grow in the wild," and added that it is an "organization independent from the party leader."
Reported by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video by Kim Jong-mi | Graphics by Jang Chae-woo | Produced by SBS Digital News
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