October 1 Vote Analysis: Four PPP Lawmakers Defied Party Line on Itaewon Act (confirmed 28 characters including spaces)
Cracks Appeared Within the PPP First Over the Itaewon Special Act Amendment
The partial amendment to the Special Act on Guaranteeing Victims' Rights of the October 29 Itaewon Crowd Crush passed the plenary session, exposing divisions for and against within and around the People Power Party (PPP). In the vote on September 3, 2026, 57 of the PPP's 61 lawmakers voted in favor and 4 opposed. The four who cast opposition votes—Lee Jong-wook, Kang Seung-gyu, Kim Jang-gyeom, and Joo Ho-young—defied the party line. Given that party discipline is strict in Korean politics and breaking from the party line is rare, the defection of four lawmakers is a significant signal regardless of party.
On the same bill day, the opposition camp split over the partial amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act. The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) recorded 94 in favor and 3 opposed. Lawmakers Moon Jeong-bok, Seo Mi-hwa, and Jeon Jin-sook voted against the party line. The figures for both bills are based on the public voting records of the plenary session. The key point of this voting data is that the ruling and opposition parties produced defection votes on different bills on the same day.
Top Conscience Voters Are Concentrated in the PPP
All eight lawmakers at the top of the party-line defection rate—often called the conscience voting ratio—belong to the PPP. Rep. Han Ki-ho ranked highest at 3.4%, followed by Rep. Kang Sun-young at 3.0% and Rep. Park Soo-young at 2.8%. Reps. Kim Ki-hyun, Joo Ho-young, Cho Seung-hwan, Park Dae-chul, and Kim Seung-su each recorded 2.4–2.5%.
What these figures make clear is this: while defection rates remain low at around 3%, the absence of any top-tier DKP figure from the list highlights a contrast in the internal discipline dynamics of the two parties. Notably, Rep. Joo Ho-young appeared simultaneously on both the list of Itaewon Special Act opposition votes and the high defection-rate rankings. It is a case where an actual defection on a contested bill overlaps with a cumulative defection rate. That said, defection rates alone cannot determine a lawmaker's political leanings; the limitation is addressed only by reading them alongside individual voting records to see which bills they defected on.
Party Cohesion Trends: What the PPP's August Low Means
Party-by-party cohesion trends reveal a temperature gap between the two parties. The DPK maintained a virtually perfect unified front at 100.0% in July 2026, 99.9% in August, and 99.9% in September. The PPP fell from 97.6% in July to 95.4% in August before rebounding to 99.1% in September.
A 4.6-point defection swing in August is by no means common based on 480,000 voting records. Internal disagreements may have surfaced ahead of the National Assembly audit season, when contested bills pile up. The recovery to 99.1% in September lines up precisely with the outcome of the Itaewon Special Act vote, where opposition was limited to four members. Most lawmakers returned to the party line, but with a group of habitual defectors such as Han Ki-ho and Joo Ho-young, the PPP's cohesion appears to be a unified front of a different character from the DPK's.
Conflict-of-Interest Points Beyond the Votes Also Need Scrutiny
Alongside the voting data, conflict-of-interest material draws attention. Based on publicly disclosed asset reports, numerous cases have been confirmed in which lawmakers or their family members hold shares in industries overseen by the National Assembly standing committees they belong to. PPP Rep. Lee Heon-seung, a member of the Trade, Industry and Energy Committee—or rather the Strategy and Finance Committee—holds 1.64 billion won in financial stocks under his own name. Rebuilding Korea Party Rep. Lee Joo-young also holds 730 million won in pharmaceutical and biotech stocks under her own name while serving on the Health and Welfare Committee.
These are simple facts based solely on publicly disclosed asset reports and are not illegal. However, the structure in which a Strategy and Finance Committee lawmaker overseeing the Financial Services Commission holds financial stocks, or an Industry Committee lawmaker's family holds semiconductor stocks, leaves potential conflict-of-interest concerns over the bills and votes handled by those committees.
Even where the amounts are relatively small, the structure is the same. DPK Rep. Kim Nam-geun, a member of the Strategy and Finance Committee, holds 350 million won and 240 million won worth of DB Financial-related stocks under his spouse's name and his own, respectively. Lawmakers on the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee—Cho Jin-chul, Choi Soo-jin, Park Jung-hoon, and Han Min-soo—were also found to hold semiconductor and IT stocks in family members' names. When regulatory bills for related industries pass through standing committees and reach the plenary floor, the burden grows on lawmakers to prove themselves that their personal financial situations do not influence their votes.
Looking Ahead: Defection Votes Expected to Carry More Weight
The implications of this data can be condensed into three points. First, defection votes emerged from both parties on the contested Itaewon Special Act and NIS Act bills. Second, the center of gravity of defections lies with the PPP, supported by the August cohesion low and September rebound. Third, independent of voting behavior, potential conflicts of interest in the committee-asset structure have been confirmed, meaning transparency demands will grow in future legislative processes involving finance, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors.
The DPK appears likely to sustain its 99.9% cohesion. The PPP restored its cohesion in September, but the cumulative defection pattern among its top conscience voters remains a variable that could produce new defection votes in the year-end budget bill and reform legislation battles. The 480,000 voting records should retain ample value as a leading indicator of internal party rifts going forward.
