Democratic Party's Hot Issue 'Article 80 of Party Rules' Ultimately Left to Emergency Committee for Final Decision (Comprehensive)

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[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Park Joon-yi] The issue of amending Article 80 of the Democratic Party’s bylaws, which suspends party duties upon indictment in cases related to corruption, has been handed over to the Emergency Response Committee members. The Party Convention Preparation Committee passed a revision bill to relax the conditions of Article 80, but some lawmakers opposed the amendment, leading to a consensus to finalize the matter after discussions within the Emergency Response Committee.

On the 16th, the Democratic Party held a party members’ meeting to discuss the amendment of Article 80 and other matters. During the meeting, when news of the Party Convention Preparation Committee’s approval of the bylaw amendment was conveyed, lawmakers clashed over the pros and cons of the amendment.

After the meeting, Lee Su-jin, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, told reporters, "Jo Seung-rae, secretary of the Party Convention Preparation Committee, explained that there was an opinion that it would be better to bring the amendment of Article 80 to the Emergency Response Committee and the Party Affairs Committee for discussion, so it passed (the committee). I think it was passed because it is more desirable to proceed through the Emergency Response Committee rather than having prolonged conflicts over differing opinions." The spokesperson added, "Woo Sang-ho, chairman of the Democratic Party Emergency Response Committee, stated that the committee will thoroughly discuss the opinions of lawmakers and reach a conclusion."

Earlier, the Party Convention Preparation Committee passed a revision bill raising the suspension condition in Article 80, Paragraph 1, from "upon indictment" to "when convicted of imprisonment or higher in a lower court." Jeon Yong-gi, spokesperson for the Party Convention Preparation Committee, explained, "From the opposition party’s perspective, many suspicions and various issues will be raised against the government and ruling party, and there is a sufficient threat that indictments could be randomly made under political oppression. Suspending party duties solely based on indictment is somewhat excessive, so this was the judgment made."

The amendment also includes provisions allowing the Supreme Council, in addition to the Central Party Ethics Tribunal, to determine exceptions to the suspension conditions for unjust reasons such as political oppression.

Regarding this, Chairman Woo said at a meeting with reporters, "I will hold an Emergency Response Committee meeting tomorrow to discuss this."

At the party members’ meeting, heated debates took place over the bylaw amendment. Park Yong-jin, a candidate for the Democratic Party leadership, expressed concern, saying, "Discussions related to the amendment of Article 80 could become an unnecessary political misstep and bring controversy over our party’s moral and political standards." Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Hae-cheol also expressed concerns about the amendment.

On the other hand, Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Yi-won-young mentioned the need for the amendment, saying, "We should stop moral politics. We are not electing clergy."

Meanwhile, Chairman Woo has previously expressed support for the bylaw amendment as a personal opinion. On a radio show that day, he said, "Even if there is an exception clause (such as for political oppression) in the current bylaws, if someone questions why a particular person is exempt, that person suffers unfairly. Isn’t justice about punishing only those who clearly have problems?"