Disciplinary Motion Filed Against Kim Tae-gyu, but Ethics Committee Remains Vacant for 29th Month
A disciplinary motion against People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Tae-gyu over his remark that "Chun Doo-hwan did not stage a rebellion" was submitted to the National Assembly on the 1st, but the Assembly's Ethics Special Committee, which would review it, remains unformed 29 months into the 22nd National Assembly. The Democratic Party (DP) announced on the 8th that it will push to form the committee under a 'parity' formula that also includes non-negotiating bloc members. The motion must pass review by the Ethics Committee and a vote in the plenary session, but it is already stalled at the first hurdle. Under the National Assembly Act, the committee can deliberate on disciplinary actions including public warnings or censure, suspension of attendance for up to 30 days, and expulsion, with expulsion requiring approval by two-thirds or more of sitting members in a plenary vote.
As of the 8th, a total of 57 disciplinary motions against National Assembly members have been submitted in the 22nd Assembly, according to the Assembly's bill information system. The DP submitted a disciplinary motion against PPP Rep. Lee Jin-sook in August for holding a forum that distorted and denigrated the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, and passed a resolution calling for her expulsion at a plenary session on August 26, but no actual disciplinary proceedings have begun. The PPP likewise submitted a disciplinary motion last month against DP Rep. Kim Jun-hyeok, who told Park Chung-kwon, a defector from North Korea, on the 1st of last month, "You are the people who used to chant 'Long live Kim Il-sung.'"
The DP is advocating for a parity-based formation of the Ethics Committee. Park Keu-taek, the DP's deputy floor leader, said on KBS Radio that day, "Given how the PPP covers even remarks defending rebellion, I think it is time to break with past convention on the Ethics Committee issue." He added, "We need to add one or two members from non-negotiating blocs to serve as a counterweight, so that discipline can actually function." This is interpreted as a plan to replace the existing '6-6' split between negotiating blocs with a structure of six members each from the ruling and opposition sides, with some of the opposition's seats allocated to members of minor parties such as the Rebuilding Korea Party, Reform Party, and Progressive Party. Han Byeong-do, the DP's floor leader, tabled a resolution to this effect on the 1st. Kim Seong-hoe, the DP's chief spokesperson, said that day, "We hope the PPP will promptly come to the negotiating table."
The PPP opposes the plan. Kim Seung-su, the PPP's senior deputy floor leader for floor operations, told The Hankyoreh that day, "This is the majority party deepening its excesses by publicly gagging the minority party," voicing opposition to the committee formation plan.
DP leader Kim Min-seok also pointed to Rep. Kim Tae-gyu on his party's YouTube channel 'Democrat TV' on the 2nd, warning of "a situation in which the National Assembly becomes a lawless land with no law or ethics."
The disposition of the 57 disciplinary motions, including the one against Rep. Kim Tae-gyu, hinges on interparty negotiations over forming the Ethics Committee, but there are no signs of the two sides narrowing their differences.
