DP members must vote based on conscience

The DP will most likely lose in next year’s parliamentary elections if it does not keep the promise it made to voters.

The Special Ethics Committee of the National Assembly plans to discuss whether to affirm an advisory committee’s recommendation that Rep. Kim Nam-kook, a former Democratic Party (DP) member, resign as a lawmaker over his cryptocurrency trading during legislative sessions. Kim traded cryptocurrencies more than 200 times during his standing committee meetings. As of the end of 2021, he possessed digital coins worth 9.9 billion won ($7.7 million). He said he only traded a small amount of cryptocurrencies for a few occasions, but that was a lie.

If the committee’s recommendation is to be passed, it requires over 200 votes in support of his expulsion from the 300-member legislature. As the governing People Power Party (PPP) has only 112 seats, his fate will be determined by the DP, which holds 168 seats. But lawmakers close to DP Chair Lee Jae-myung are demanding a “prudent approach” to his arrest. They cite the need to consider 11 other lawmakers who also possess or traded cryptocurrencies at the risk of conflict of interests from their standing committees.

The DP leadership has been criticized for tepidly dealing with Kim’s problem, as seen in a belated filing of an accusation with the ethics committee. As Kim served as Lee’s chief secretary, Lee’s leadership was critically damaged. That’s not all. When the DP’s innovation committee proposed that DP lawmakers give up their immunity from being arrested, as their PPP peers did, they reluctantly accepted the proposal with strings attached — only when the prosecution legitimately requests an arrest warrant. The DP’s decision on the lawmaker will serve as a litmus test for the sincerity of the party’s reform effort.

Despite all the judicial risks of the DP head and the controversy over the cash handouts before the 2021 national convention to elect a new party head, the majority party did not show any remorse. In contrast, a former PPP lawmaker voluntarily resigned in 2021 after taking responsibility for her father’s violation of the land possession act. Another conservative lawmaker made the same decision after being investigated for his alleged sexual misconduct. If the recommendation for the controversial lawmaker is approved by the National Assembly, it will be the first case in 44 years. We hope Rep. Kim demonstrates his integrity before it’s too late.

The DP will most likely lose in next year’s parliamentary elections if it does not keep the promise it made to voters. As Chair Lee also could face another request for an arrest warrant soon, we hope Lee keep his promise not to hide behind the privilege of no arrest. The DP must accept the innovation committee’s proposal for a roll call votes instead of the secret votes over Kim’s fate.