Lee Jun-seok, "When the President Goes Overseas, the Ethics Committee Will Attempt to Expel Me"

Lee Jun-seok, former leader of the People Power Party (PPP) appears for a hearing on an injunction suspending the enforcement of the PPP constitution at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on September 14. Kweon Ho-wook, Senior Reporter

On September 15, former leader of the People Power Party (PPP), Lee Jun-seok said, “If you examine those people (PPP) for a few months, they always do something when the president leaves the country or goes somewhere.” He suggested the possibility of additional disciplinary action against himself when President Yoon Suk-yeol leaves for a 7-day overseas trip on September 18.

This day, Lee appeared on CBS radio and spoke on the People Power Party’s response to his request for an injunction and said, “I think they are resorting to a ‘dismissal tactic’ rather than debating the details.” A dismissal is a ruling that the court did not have all the conditions necessary for a trial. Lee said, “The key to the dismissal tactic will probably be something like using the ethics committee,” and explained, “They will make up an excuse and devise something like a script to expel me and argue (before the judges) that I am not a member of the party.” Earlier, the PPP central ethics committee hinted at additional disciplinary action against Lee for his accusation of “crying wine and selling vinegar.” On September 28, the ethics committee is expected to discuss enforcing disciplinary measures against Lee.

Lee argued that the ethics committee could meet earlier than September 28. He said, “If the ethics committee decides to hold a meeting today, they can meet this evening,” and added, “They can hint at a meeting on September 28, and suddenly say the meeting will be held tomorrow due to a special situation.” Lee said, “I expect them to take another incredible and excessive action.” He also said, “If you examine those people (PPP) for a few months, they always do something when the president leaves the country or goes somewhere.” He claimed that the day of a decisive action was when the president was overseas and argued, “It’s because no matter what happens, they can’t shove a microphone in front of Yongsan (Office of the President). They will look for such an opportunity.”

As for the possibility of Lee establishing a new political party if he is expelled, Lee said, “If they expel me, it will be more than a political ripple. It will be something that will put my name in the history books,” and added, “So if such a thing happens, I will have to assess the situation.”

As for the media report that Lee would be questioned as a witness by the police on September 16, he said, “It’s not the sixteenth,” and explained, “I will go when the discussions are over.” Lee said, “Since I will personally be making my defense, it won’t matter as long as it doesn’t get mixed with the injunction schedule (since I will have to prepare for my case).” He further said, “Since I have about two weeks until the questioning, I will decide (the date for the police questioning) after reviewing the situation.”