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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

South Korean Lawmaker Faces Expulsion After Physical Altercation with Party Leader

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Context piece
  • The ruling People Power Party is considering recommending the voluntary departure of lawmaker Kwon Young-jin, who grabbed floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk's neck.
  • Kwon apologized directly to Chung on the 27th, four days after the incident, but the party maintains that disciplinary action is inevitable.
  • If Kwon does not voluntarily leave the party by the end of the day, he faces referral to the ethics committee for the highest level of disciplinary action, potentially including expulsion.

The ruling People Power Party's leadership has decided to recommend that lawmaker Kwon Young-jin voluntarily leave the party following his physical altercation with floor leader Chung Jin-suk. Kwon had grabbed Chung by the neck during a dispute over the allocation of seats in the National Assembly's standing committees for the second half of the year.

What I did last Thursday, regardless of the reason, was my fault and I was lacking.

— Kwon Young-jinApologizing for grabbing floor leader Chung Jin-suk's neck.

Kwon visited Chung at his office on the 27th to offer a personal apology, four days after the incident. However, the party's Supreme Council concluded that disciplinary action is unavoidable. "We reached a consensus that this matter must be dealt with sternly and strongly," said Park Seong-hoon, the party's senior spokesperson, after a closed-door meeting.

I was also very pained and regretted it after hearing that the floor leader was so shocked that he couldn't attend to his schedule the next day.

— Kwon Young-jinExpressing remorse after the incident.

Park further stated that if Kwon does not accept the recommendation to leave the party voluntarily, the party intends to swiftly convene the ethics committee. The committee is expected to consider the highest level of disciplinary measures, including expulsion from the party. The party explained that they have not yet formally requested the ethics committee to initiate proceedings to ensure procedural fairness, including hearing Kwon's statement before any decision is made.

The floor leader also readily accepted my apology.

— Kwon Young-jinCommenting on the reception of his apology.

Kwon expressed deep regret for his actions, acknowledging his shortcomings. "What I did last Thursday, regardless of the reason, was my fault and I was lacking," he told reporters after meeting with Chung. He added that he was deeply pained and regretful upon hearing how shocked Chung was. While Chung accepted Kwon's apology, Kwon did not directly answer questions about whether he would leave the party.

We reached a consensus that this matter must be dealt with sternly and strongly.

— Park Seong-hoon, Senior Spokesperson for the People Power PartyDescribing the party's stance on disciplinary action against Kwon Young-jin.
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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