Four Incumbent Lawmakers Given Heavy Penalties of Party Rights Suspension... Cho Kyung-tae Receives 2 Years and 6 Months

[Anchor]

The People Power Party's ethics committee has imposed heavy disciplinary penalties, suspending the party rights of four incumbent lawmakers belonging to the non-leadership faction. Among them, Representatives Cho Kyung-tae and Jin Jong-oh received party rights suspensions of two years or more, meaning they will be barred from receiving party nominations in the 2028 general elections if the disciplinary actions are finalized. The individuals involved immediately protested.

Reporter Jeong Yunsik has the details.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee announced the results of its disciplinary review for Representatives Cho Kyung-tae, Seo Bum-soo, Kwon Young-jin, and Jin Jong-oh through a press release yesterday evening (August 20).

The ethics committee imposed a heavy penalty of a two-year and six-month suspension of party rights on Representative Cho Kyung-tae, who was referred for allegedly calling Democratic Party lawmakers in an effort to defeat Representative Park Duk-hyum, who had been chosen as the People Power Party's candidate for National Assembly Vice Speaker through an internal party contest.

The ethics committee also passed a disciplinary motion for a two-year suspension of party rights against Representative Jin Jong-oh.

Representative Jin was referred for supporting independent candidate Han Dong-hoon in the local elections last June, and was additionally referred alongside Representative Seo Bum-soo for making inappropriate jokes during a National Assembly meeting attended by the victim of the so-called Busan roundhouse kick assault case.

Representative Seo Bum-soo received a 10-month suspension of party rights.

Representative Kwon Young-jin, who grabbed Floor Leader Chung Jeom-sik by the collar in protest over standing committee assignments, was given a one-year and six-month suspension of party rights.

If finalized, Representatives Cho Kyung-tae and Jin Jong-oh, who received party rights suspensions of two years or more, will not be able to receive party nominations in the upcoming 2028 general elections.

The individuals affected immediately pushed back.

Representative Kwon Young-jin stated, "The ethics committee has been a loyal hunting dog for the Jang Dong-hyeok leadership faction," adding, "I will wear this disciplinary action like a medal and fight harder." Representative Seo Bum-soo expressed hope that this disciplinary action "is not a predetermined sanction aimed at eliminating political rivals."

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon criticized the move, saying, "Selective and arbitrary disciplinary politics to turn a public party into a private one continues," and warned that "it will be abandoned by the public."

While the party leadership stated it is not reviewing disciplinary measures against Representative Lee Jin-sook, who was referred after hosting a seminar recently accused of distorting the May 18 Democratic Movement, the ethics committee's swift imposition of heavy penalties on non-leadership faction lawmakers is stoking an atmosphere of factional conflict.

(Video by Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by So Ji-hye)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.