Democratic Party Ethics Committee Expels Yang Hyang-ja, Citing "Seriousness of Offense"

Yang Hyang-ja, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who faced allegations of sexual crimes involving her cousin and local office staff, was expelled on the 12th.

The Democratic Party's Ethics Tribunal held a meeting at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, in the afternoon and announced that they had resolved to take this action.

A, the cousin of Representative Yang and a local office staff member, is accused of sexually assaulting female employee B, who worked at the local committee, by abusing his authority at work. Representative Yang reported A to the Gwangju Seobu Police Station on the 24th of last month, requesting an investigation into the sexual crime allegations.

The party's Ethics Tribunal explained, "The expulsion decision considered factors such as the secondary harm caused by interviews denying any sexual violence reported in the media, the severity of the perpetrator's actions which led to a detention warrant being requested, and the attempt to persuade the victim by offering job placement."

The Ethics Tribunal completed a preliminary investigation into the secondary harm and other issues, and after hearing Representative Yang's explanation on the day, decided on the expulsion. Once the Ethics Tribunal decides on expulsion, it must be approved by more than half of the members at the party caucus meeting to be finalized.