PPP Ethics Committee Begins Procedures for Disciplinary Action Against Kweon Seong-dong for Having a "Drinking Party"

Lee Yang-hee, chairperson of the People Power Party central ethics committee attends a committee meeting at the National Assembly in the evening of September 28. Joint press photographers

On September 29, the People Power Party (PPP) central ethics committee launched procedures for disciplinary measures against former floor leader Kweon Seong-dong, who enjoyed a drinking party during a party workshop despite the party’s ban on drinking. Kweon is expected to stand before the ethics committee on October 6 along with former party leader Lee Jun-seok, who was the subject of an earlier review. The party’s ethics committee also decided to enforce a six-month suspension of member rights for lawmaker Kim Sung-won, who said, “I wish it would rain,” at a flood recovery site.

Lee Yang-hee, head of the PPP ethics committee, met with reporters after a committee meeting that ended past midnight on September 29, and announced that the committee unanimously decided to launch procedures for disciplinary action against Kweon. Lee said, “During a workshop for lawmakers on August 25, despite a ban on drinking due to the emergency situation the party faced, images of Kweon singing and drinking were disclosed to the public, calling for a need to review possible violations of Article 4 of the party’s ethics regulations,” and explained the reason for launching the disciplinary procedure. Article 4 of the PPP ethics regulation is about maintaining the dignity of a party member.

On August 25, when Kweon was the party’s floor leader, he attended a two-day workshop, but a video was released showing Kweon singing at a drinking party at a nearby restaurant. Some in the party criticized the lawmaker for drinking after he himself banned drinking.

The ethics committee gathered at 7 p.m. September 28 and the meeting lasted for more than five hours. However, the committee did not discuss the level of additional penalties on Lee Jun-seok. The committee chairperson said, “Disciplinary measures against party member Lee Jun-seok are important, but disciplinary procedures were launched for other cases as well. Since we had decided to discuss the cases that were launched a month ago in the meeting on September 28 (this day), we discussed those.”

The ethics committee plans to ask Lee Jun-seok and Kweon Seong-dong to appear before the committee on October 6. Since Lee Yang-hee’s term as chairperson ends on October 14, the committee is likely to determine the level of disciplinary action against the two men on October 6.

Earlier on September 18, the ethics committee held a surprise meeting and decided to launch additional disciplinary procedures against Lee Jun-seok. At the time, the committee argued that Lee disrupted unity in the party by using foul and slanderous expressions against party members, party lawmakers and party agencies without objective proof and by allegedly violating the law, and that he engaged in behavior harmful to the party--tarnishing the authority of the party--as the grounds for launching disciplinary measures. The ethics committee also cited Lee’s request for an injunction to block the gathering of the PPP National Committee, which was to specify the grounds for switching to governance by an emergency response committee in the party constitution and regulations, as a reason for launching disciplinary procedures. On July 8, Lee Jun-seok was suspended of his member rights for six months for violating the obligation to maintain dignity following the allegation that he tried to destroy evidence.

The ethics committee also decided to suspend the member rights of lawmaker Kim Sung-won for six months after his slip of the tongue in a neighborhood recovering from a flood. On August 11, lawmaker Kim visited a flood recovery site in Sadang-dong, Dongjak-gu in Seoul. There, he said, “Honestly, I wish it would rain. So it would look good in the pictures,” drawing fierce criticism. The ethics committee chairperson said, “He damaged our party’s reputation with a rash comment that was far from public sentiment, and as a result he forced the people to turn away.” She continued and explained, “We took into consideration the fact that he publicly apologized on three occasions, volunteered to help people recover from the flood for nineteen days, and submitted three amendments for flood recovery and support.”

Lawmaker Kim Hee-kuk, who is standing trial for receiving donations split into smaller portions in exchange for solicitation of business opportunities, was suspended from his party position and will not be eligible to run in the party primaries. Lee Yang-hee spoke about Kim, who was prosecuted for bribery last July, and said, “We believe his case comes under Article 22 Section 1 Clause 3 of the ethics committee regulations.” According to this regulation, if a person is prosecuted for corruption including bribery, he loses the right to run in various party primaries (except for elections to select the candidate for the speaker, deputy speaker and chair of the standing committee in the National Assembly) and to participate in public contests and bids for projects. And if the person holds a party position at any level or is the chief of the local party office, he is to be suspended from such positions.

Lawmaker Kwon Eun-hee, who called for the impeachment of Lee Sang-min, minister of the interior and safety, while opposing the establishment of a police bureau under the ministry, was given a stern caution from Lee Yang-hee. Stern caution from the ethics committee chairperson is not defined as a disciplinary measure, such as expulsion, recommendation to leave the party, suspension of party member rights, and a warning. The committee appears to have accepted much of lawmaker Kwon’s explanation. Chairperson Lee said, “A lawmaker should be allowed to make sound criticism of policies, but we seriously urged her to refrain from external activities that went beyond the limit permitted to party members.”

The day she appeared before the ethics committee, lawmaker Kwon Eun-hee argued, “My case was put on the table just because the National Assembly voiced an opinion that kept the executive branch in check according to the separation of powers stipulated in the Constitution, in other words for opposing the establishment of the police bureau and for requesting the impeachment of Minister Lee Sang-min for his illegal actions,” and said, “I will check and listen to what kind of mind they have to put the role of a lawmaker described in the Constitution in the ethics committee agenda.”

Kwon Eun-hee said that she explained her position to the ethics committee for nearly an hour and was asked to explain why she violated the party constitution and regulation, which states that she follow party policies; why she conclusively stated that Minister Lee Sang-min established the police bureau with the intention to dominate the police; and why she passed judgment on the presidential decree and ministerial ordinance of the executive branch, which the legislative branch has no authority over, and called for an impeachment. She explained, “The activities of a lawmaker stipulated in the Constitution have priority over the party constitution and regulations,” and added, “Keeping the executive branch in check is the essential and basic right of the National Assembly.”