[Anchor]

The People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee is set to convene tomorrow, July 6. On the agenda is the potential disciplinary action against party members who supported independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon during the June 3 by-elections. With strong backlash brewing within the party, internal conflict is expected to intensify.

Park Chan-beom reports.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee will discuss whether to initiate disciplinary procedures against party-affiliated lawmakers tomorrow.

This marks the committee's first reactivation in five months, following its decision to discipline pro-Han Dong-hoon lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin back in February.

[Jang Dong-hyuk / People Power Party Representative (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 to the committee by party figures and supporters aligned with Representative Jang Dong-hyuk.

These members are primarily from the pro-Han faction and the group of first and second-term lawmakers known as 'Alternatives and Future.'

In particular, the disciplinary blade is expected to target pro-Han lawmakers who supported Han Dong-hoon when he ran as an independent candidate for 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 these members 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 representative Han Dong-hoon, right?') Yes, to put it bluntly, that is true.]

The underlying perspective is that while former five-term lawmaker Suh Byung-soo left the party, supporting Han while still maintaining membership in the People Power Party is an issue that cannot be overlooked. As Representative Jang reactivates his disciplinary politics, the party's internal strife is likely to escalate due to growing opposition.

Senior party members are voicing their concerns.

[Yoon Sang-hyun / People Power Party Lawmaker: What our party needs is not a competition of disciplinary actions, but a competition of innovation. Politics should be resolved through political means...]

Sharp criticism has also been raised, with some claiming the Ethics Committee is acting as a "hunting dog" to eliminate the representative's political rivals. A key official from the Ethics Committee refuted this to SBS, stating, "We are not hunting dogs, but wolves that grow in the wild," adding that the committee is an "independent body from the party representative."

(Video reporting: Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: Lee Seung-hee | Graphics: Jang Chae-woo)