The Democratic Party and Tae Young-ho Debate Disciplinary Action... "Should Resign VS Unclear Grounds for Discipline"

Within the Party, a Consensus That It Cannot Be Overlooked... The Grounds for Disciplinary Action Are Unclear

On the 5th, debates continued within the People Power Party over whether to discipline Tae Young-ho, a Supreme Council member embroiled in various controversies including the recording scandal that sparked allegations of presidential office interference in candidate selection.

Tae Young-ho, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference at the National Assembly on the 3rd regarding the recording scandal and allegations of splitting donations. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Within the party, there is a growing consensus that severe disciplinary action against Supreme Council member Tae is inevitable, with increasing calls for him to voluntarily step down from his position. However, some voices argue that since the grounds for discipline are unclear, imposing sanctions on Tae could trigger significant backlash.

Supreme Council member Kim Byung-min, in an interview with a media outlet that day, mentioned several political events such as Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Korea on the 7th-8th and the first anniversary of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration on the 10th, expressing concern that "these major issues and agendas might all be overshadowed by the so-called Supreme Council member issue and political news," reflecting the internal atmosphere.

He added, "Moreover, after the release of Tae Young-ho's recording, Democratic Party officials appeared to engage in political acts to downplay the issue by bringing up their own party's money envelope recordings," and said, "Many party members and leadership share the awareness that this cannot just be brushed aside as if nothing happened."

Regarding calls for Tae's voluntary resignation, he said, "It seems someone suggested that various actions are necessary to politically resolve the party's difficult crisis."

Senior Advisor Lee Jae-oh also emphasized in a CBS radio interview that "to properly resolve the recording issue, political responsibility must be held by those involved," and stressed, "Responsibility must be held by Supreme Council member Tae Young-ho, and he should be made to resign from the Supreme Council."

Advisor Lee also stated, "To firmly ensure that the presidential office does not interfere in candidate selection, the political secretary Lee Jin-bok, who was the pretext for this, must be dismissed."

On the other hand, former party leader Lee Jun-seok appeared on MBC radio and criticized calls from some quarters for a severe disciplinary action of over one year suspension of party membership against Tae, saying, "This is an attempt to block the candidacy of someone elected by party members just two months ago."

Lee further commented, "It is unclear whether Tae or Secretary Lee Jin-bok was at fault based on the leaked content, and what exactly the grounds for discipline are," predicting, "The Ethics Committee will have a headache, and the level of discipline itself will be highly controversial."