Comparison with Former Lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook Who Resigned Over Father's Real Estate Allegations
Yoon Jae-ok: "What Remains for the Democratic Party Is Active Cooperation with Prosecutors' Investigation"
On the 15th, the People Power Party launched a fierce attack, demanding the removal of Representative Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party of Korea amid ‘cryptocurrency speculation allegations,’ from his parliamentary seat.
Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, stated at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, “Representative Kim should resign from his parliamentary position,” adding, “If he holds out until the end, his parliamentary seat should be revoked. We urge the Democratic Party to cooperate.”
Kim Ki-hyun, the leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Kim also said, “The public’s anger is boiling over after being betrayed by Representative Kim, the ultimate hypocrite,” and added, “The Democratic Party, which has habitually used cunning party resignations as a tool for legislative dictatorship, should know that resignation is not a disciplinary measure.”
Comparing Kim to former People Power Party Representative Yoon Hee-sook, who voluntarily resigned amid real estate allegations involving her father, Kim said, “The message that Representative Kim sent to former Representative Yoon?‘A thorough investigation must clearly reveal whether there was speculation using the source of funds and undisclosed information, and a full investigation should confirm if there are more speculation experts using undisclosed information’?is exactly the question the public is now asking him. I hope he faces this reality.”
Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, also stated, “This matter requires not only resignation from the parliamentary seat but also investigation to uncover the truth and hold legal responsibility,” explaining, “Even ordinary public officials would not have escaped severe punishment if they traded cryptocurrency during work hours. Parliamentarians, who are held to a much higher moral standard, should apologize to the public a hundredfold and voluntarily resign just for this.”
Yoon added, “Currently, the Democratic Party has neither the will to reform nor the ability to self-purify and is only trying to evade the situation,” and said, “The only path left for the Democratic Party is to promptly convene the Ethics Committee to take appropriate measures swiftly and actively cooperate with the prosecution’s investigation, including directly requesting a criminal investigation.”
Supreme Council member Kim Byung-min pointed out, “Based on the circumstances revealed so far, aren’t there more than enough reasons to expel Representative Kim from the National Assembly?” He criticized, “Although there was a call at yesterday’s party meeting to refer Representative Kim to the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee for swift resolution, this was omitted from the official statement, effectively opening a back door for Representative Kim to escape through voluntary resignation. How will the Lee Jae-myung leadership handle this criticism?”
Young Supreme Council member Jang Ye-chan also announced a ‘Clean Politics Declaration.’ Jang stated, “I will not hold any cryptocurrency while serving in public office or party positions,” and added, “I will not acquire any assets related to information obtained while performing public or party duties, and if a conflict of interest arises, I will return all my assets to society.”
The People Power Party plans to launch a fact-finding task force (TF) involving external experts on the 16th to investigate Representative Kim’s cryptocurrency investment allegations. Representative Kim Sung-won will serve as the TF leader, and Representative Yoon Chang-hyun, who chairs the party’s Digital Assets Special Committee, will be the secretary.
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