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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

People Power Party ethics committee warns of dismissal for leaks, sparking internal criticism

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The ruling People Power Party's ethics committee warned that members who leak internal discussions could be dismissed.
  • Some party members criticized the warning as an attempt to silence dissent and demanded clearer definitions of confidentiality.
  • The controversy follows recent resignations and allegations of biased operations within the ethics committee.

The People Power Party's central ethics committee has warned that members who leak internal discussions could face dismissal, sparking criticism within the party. Yang Hyang-ja, a supreme council member, stated on KBS radio that while confidentiality is meant to protect the committee, it should not be used to "gag criticism." She argued that the committee chair should have clearly defined the scope of confidentiality and what constitutes a violation before issuing such a strong warning.

Confidentiality is a shield to protect the ethics committee, but it should not be a means to gag criticism.

— Yang Hyang-jaSupreme council member Yang Hyang-ja on KBS radio criticizing the ethics committee's warning about leaked discussions.

Woo Jae-jun, a youth supreme council member, echoed these sentiments on YTN radio, suggesting the warning implies "don't say anything at all." He pointed to apparent internal issues within the committee, which he believes lead to biased outcomes. This comes after committee chair Yoon Min-woo issued a statement warning of dismissal for future breaches of confidentiality, which is seen as a response to public criticism from Vice Chair Woo Jong-hwan and others regarding Yoon's unilateral meeting management.

It's as if you're saying don't say anything at all.

— Woo Jae-junYouth supreme council member Woo Jae-jun on YTN radio commenting on the ethics committee's warning.

The party's regulations stipulate duties of fairness and confidentiality. Woo argued that the committee's "arbitrary operation is no secret" and that leaking facts about disciplined individuals learned during work constitutes a breach. The party recently clashed over appointing two new ethics committee members, increasing the committee's size from five to seven after two members resigned. Allegations of unfairness arose when disciplinary proceedings against three members were initiated in a meeting attended by only three of the five existing members.

If there are further violations of the duty of confidentiality regarding internal discussions of the Central Ethics Committee, we will take strict measures, including requesting the dismissal of the relevant ethics committee member according to the regulations.

— Yoon Min-wooEthics Committee Chair Yoon Min-woo's statement warning of dismissal for leaked internal discussions.
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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