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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Democrats submit motion to expel lawmaker Lee Jin-suk for 'May 18 Uprising defamation'

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • The Democratic Party submitted a motion to the National Assembly calling for the expulsion of People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-suk.
  • The party argues Lee has repeatedly denigrated the May 18th Democratic Uprising, making it shameful to be her colleague.
  • All Democratic Party lawmakers have signed the motion, which they intend to push as party policy and have the National Assembly's Ethics Committee address.

The Democratic Party has submitted a motion to the National Assembly demanding the expulsion of People Power Party lawmaker Lee Jin-suk. The motion, filed on June 14th, targets Lee for her involvement in a forum that allegedly distorted and denigrated the May 18th Democratic Uprising.

"It is shameful to even call her a colleague," said Lee Ju-hee, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, after submitting the resolution. "She does not hesitate to deny historically established facts while gathering figures who denigrate the spirit of the May 18th Uprising. She must step down from her parliamentary seat immediately, and we intend to formalize this through a resolution."

It is shameful to even call her a colleague. She does not hesitate to deny historically established facts while gathering figures who denigrate the spirit of the May 18th Uprising. She must step down from her parliamentary seat immediately, and we intend to formalize this through a resolution.

— Lee Ju-heeDemocratic Party floor spokesperson explaining the reason for submitting the expulsion motion.

The party announced that all its lawmakers have signed the expulsion motion, indicating it will be pursued as official party policy. Park Kyun-taek, the deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated, "Since all Democratic Party members have agreed to submit this motion, it can be considered party-driven." He anticipates that the motion will be referred to the National Assembly's Special Committee on Ethics, which is yet to be formed, and subsequently brought to a plenary session.

Since all Democratic Party members have agreed to submit this motion, it can be considered party-driven.

— Park Kyun-taekDemocratic Party deputy floor leader confirming the party's unified stance.

Earlier, Han Byung-do, the interim leader and floor leader of the Democratic Party, addressed the issue during a Supreme Council meeting. He urged the People Power Party not to dismiss Lee's actions as a personal deviation but to clearly state its position on the distortion of the May 18th Uprising history. "We expect the People Power Party to take responsible measures against Lee," Han stated. "If they do not, we will take action."

The controversy stems from a forum Lee Jin-suk hosted at the National Assembly Library on June 13th. During the event, participants, including figures like Lee Young-hoon, a prominent New Right scholar and co-representative of the National Revival Movement, made remarks that denied and mocked the May 18th Uprising. Lee Young-hoon, for instance, referred to the events of May 1980 in Gwangju as a "riot."

We expect the People Power Party to take responsible measures against Lee. If they do not, we will take action.

— Han Byung-doDemocratic Party interim leader urging the People Power Party to address Lee Jin-suk's actions.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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