People Power Party Appoints Two Additional Ethics Committee Members

The People Power Party appointed two additional members to its Central Ethics Committee on July 30, restoring the committee to a seven-member structure after two members recently resigned. This move is expected to expedite the disciplinary procedures against lawmakers Cho Kyung-tae, Kwon Young-jin, and Jin Jong-o.

Choi Bo-yoon, the party's chief spokesperson, announced the appointments following a Supreme Council meeting, stating, "The appointment of the two members to the Central Ethics Committee was approved by the Supreme Council."

Choi explained that the previous resignations were partly due to the public disclosure of the members' names, which created pressure and discomfort. To address this issue, the party decided to appoint two new members.

She added, "The party's constitution allows for the appointment of up to nine members, so we proceeded with the appointments to ensure smooth operations." The decision was made through a vote.

Choi also noted that there were strong concerns raised by several Supreme Council members regarding the repeated leaks of the ethics committee's member list, as well as criticisms of inappropriate behavior by some members that could disrupt the committee's functions.

During the voting process for the additional appointments, Woo Jae-jun, a youth Supreme Council member, publicly expressed his opposition. He stated, "I believe we need to investigate what is happening within the ethics committee and whether it is being operated in a biased manner. I cannot agree with the approach of simply filling the vacancies left by resignations to continue the committee's operations."

In response, party leader Jang Dong-hyuk explained that the committee does not have the authority to investigate non-party members and emphasized the necessity of appointing new members to avoid leaving the committee in a state of vacancy.