Disciplinary Level for 'JMS Democratic Party' Taeyoungho... Will It Affect the General Election?

The Ethics Committee with Yeo Expected to Restart Next Week
Democrats "Will Watch How Tae Young-ho Is Handled"

The People Power Party (PPP) has once again found itself in a difficult situation due to a controversy involving Tae Young-ho, a senior member of the party. The party’s Ethics Committee, which is about to be launched, is expected to discuss whether to discipline Tae. The key issue is the level of discipline, which could even affect his candidacy in next year’s general election.

On the 17th, Tae voluntarily requested the Ethics Committee to review disciplinary action against him. On that day, he posted on his Facebook account the phrase "Junk Money Sex Democratic Party, indeed JMS Democratic Party," but quickly deleted it and apologized, saying he had caused trouble for the party and requested disciplinary review. Tae explained that the message, which should have been reported confidentially, was made public due to a mistake by his aides.

This attitude is markedly different from when Tae was criticized for calling the Jeju 4.3 incident a "Kim Il-sung family directive." On February 13, Tae claimed that the Jeju 4.3 incident was triggered by orders from the Kim Il-sung family, which drew criticism both inside and outside the party.

The Democratic Party submitted a disciplinary proposal against Tae to the National Assembly Ethics Committee, but at that time, Tae stood firm, saying, "As someone who was once part of the Kim Il-sung family regime, I asked for forgiveness from the victims who suffered terribly, brutally, and innocently. Do not use this politically."

On the 14th, Tae also sparked controversy by interpreting a diplomatic white paper containing claims that Dokdo is Japanese territory as "Japan’s response signal." At that time, Tae said on Facebook, "Do not view this maliciously; read the original diplomatic white paper properly," adding, "It is unfortunate to judge this as a slip of the tongue."

Tae Young-ho, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

In this context, the PPP Ethics Committee, whose eight members including Chairperson Lee Yang-hee all resigned earlier this month, is about to be relaunched. On that day, lawyer Hwang Jeong-geun was appointed as the party’s Ethics Committee Chair, and the committee plans to select eight members soon and officially launch.

Attention is focused on whether and to what extent the reactivated Ethics Committee will impose discipline. Ethics Committee sanctions range from warnings, suspension of party membership rights, recommendations to leave the party, to expulsion. If suspended, the duration could make it uncertain whether the individual can run in next year’s general election. Former party leader Lee Jun-seok, who was suspended from party membership for 1 year and 6 months due to remarks like "Yangduguyuk," was unable to run in the party leadership election held last month because of this. Lee’s party membership rights will be restored in January, just before the general election.

Many expect the first agenda item for the Ethics Committee to be whether to discipline Kim Jae-won. The party leadership, including Kim, has faced criticism for maintaining a lukewarm stance and not disciplining Kim Jae-won, who has been repeatedly criticized for remarks related to Jeon Gwang-hoon.

Democratic Party spokesperson Kang Seon-woo said, "We will watch how the ruling party handles Representative Tae." On the afternoon of the 17th, on CBS Radio’s "Park Jae-hong’s One-on-One Battle," Kang said, "It seems Representative Tae has a special affection for JMS. This is not the first time he mentioned JMS. In March, when the JMS sexual exploitation controversy was at its peak, he made a post trying to link the worst cult group JMS with the Democratic Party."

Kang added, "This time, he immediately deleted the post and voluntarily applied to the Ethics Committee, which suggests he knew he was embarrassed." He also said, "The JMS post was made from Tae’s personal account, not the office account, so why is he trying to shift responsibility to his aides? The public is watching very closely where Representative Kim Ki-hyun’s leadership is heading."