City Councilman Visits Hotel With Woman During Session, Arguing He Has 'Right to Private Life'

The city council has initiated official disciplinary procedures against a city councilman who sparked controversy after visiting a hotel with a woman while the council was in session.

The Gwangmyeong City Council in Gyeonggi Province held a plenary session yesterday (September 11) and resolved to refer Councilman A to the Special Committee on Ethics.

The controversy began when local media outlets reported that on the afternoon of September 10, Councilman A visited a hotel in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, with a woman, Ms. B.

According to the reports, Councilman A presided over a standing committee's settlement review that morning, had lunch with fellow council members, and then drove his own car to the hotel.

He was subsequently spotted leaving the hotel with Ms. B at around 4:30 p.m., during working hours while the council session was underway.

As the controversy escalated following the reports, Councilman A submitted a notice of withdrawal from the Democratic Party late that same night.

The Gwangmyeong Coalition for Economic Justice issued a statement criticizing the incident, stating, "This incident went beyond the scope of privacy. We cannot help but deplore that only two months after the opening of the 10th Gwangmyeong City Council, an issue regarding a councilman's conduct has embarrassed citizens."

In addition, the coalition demanded that the city council issue an official apology to the citizens, uncover the truth behind the incident, and impose severe disciplinary action against Councilman A.

Regarding the incident, according to a report by the Gwangmyeong Regional Newspaper, Councilman A explained, "As a man, I went to the room with an ulterior motive, but the woman refused, so I didn't cross the line," adding, "After that, we just came out of the room and talked while drinking coffee."

At the same time, he defended his actions by claiming that the standing committee meeting had ended in the morning and that council members are entitled to a private life.

Under the current Local Autonomy Act, the four types of disciplinary measures that can be imposed on local council members are a warning in an open meeting, a public apology, suspension of attendance for up to 30 days, and expulsion.

Among these, expelling a member requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the registered council members.

(Reported by Jo Gi-ho, Video by Na Hong-hee, Graphics by Lee Jung-joo, Produced by SBS Digital News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.