Seo Beom-soo, a member of the People Power Party, withdrew his appeal against a 10-month suspension of party membership imposed by the party's Central Ethics Committee on September 16 and shifted to legal action. He criticized the disciplinary action as a means of "purging political rivals."
On the same day, Seo submitted an application for an injunction to suspend the disciplinary action at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, along with a lawsuit seeking to confirm the nullification of the disciplinary action itself.
After submitting the documents related to the injunction and the lawsuit, he told reporters, "Compared to the conclusion reached just two days after the disciplinary hearing, the appeal process is taking too long," adding, "This is an attempt to undermine the legally prescribed remedial procedures."
Seo also pointed out procedural flaws in the party's disciplinary process, stating, "The Ethics Committee did not disclose the list of committee members, depriving me of the right to avoid certain members," and noted that the committee only sent the list after he filed the appeal.
He further claimed that the disciplinary action was a political attack, saying, "On the day the disciplinary committee met, the victim of the Busan incident personally appeared before the Ethics Committee to plead for leniency," and asserted, "Despite the victim's wishes, the disciplinary action is being pushed forward for political purposes."
Seo expressed concern that this could be seen as a purge of political rivals within the party, stating, "It is hard not to think this is a way to eliminate political opponents. Similar incidents within the party received public criticism, yet some faced swift disciplinary procedures while others did not even have proceedings initiated."
Seo's legal response follows that of fellow party member Jin Jong-o, who also faced a two-year suspension of party membership but did not file an appeal and instead applied for an injunction on September 6.
Meanwhile, the Ethics Committee reviewed Seo's appeal against the 10-month suspension on September 14 but did not reach a conclusion. The committee plans to discuss the matter again on September 30. Seo was reported to the Ethics Committee for making inappropriate remarks at a discussion attended by Kim Jin-joo (pseudonym), the victim of the Busan incident, on August 20.
On the same day, Seo submitted an application for an injunction to suspend the disciplinary action at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, along with a lawsuit seeking to confirm the nullification of the disciplinary action itself.
After submitting the documents related to the injunction and the lawsuit, he told reporters, "Compared to the conclusion reached just two days after the disciplinary hearing, the appeal process is taking too long," adding, "This is an attempt to undermine the legally prescribed remedial procedures."
Seo also pointed out procedural flaws in the party's disciplinary process, stating, "The Ethics Committee did not disclose the list of committee members, depriving me of the right to avoid certain members," and noted that the committee only sent the list after he filed the appeal.
He further claimed that the disciplinary action was a political attack, saying, "On the day the disciplinary committee met, the victim of the Busan incident personally appeared before the Ethics Committee to plead for leniency," and asserted, "Despite the victim's wishes, the disciplinary action is being pushed forward for political purposes."
Seo expressed concern that this could be seen as a purge of political rivals within the party, stating, "It is hard not to think this is a way to eliminate political opponents. Similar incidents within the party received public criticism, yet some faced swift disciplinary procedures while others did not even have proceedings initiated."
Seo's legal response follows that of fellow party member Jin Jong-o, who also faced a two-year suspension of party membership but did not file an appeal and instead applied for an injunction on September 6.
Meanwhile, the Ethics Committee reviewed Seo's appeal against the 10-month suspension on September 14 but did not reach a conclusion. The committee plans to discuss the matter again on September 30. Seo was reported to the Ethics Committee for making inappropriate remarks at a discussion attended by Kim Jin-joo (pseudonym), the victim of the Busan incident, on August 20.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.