With 'Kim Nam-guk Coin Gate' Full-Scale Offensive... Ethics Committee to Push for 'Expulsion from Office' Today

'CoinGate Truth Investigation TF' Holds First Meeting on 16th
Plans to Launch 'Full Investigation' if Necessary
National Assembly Ethics Committee Begins Full-Scale Activities from This Day

On the 16th, the People Power Party labeled the coin investment allegations against Representative Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party, as ‘Coingate’ and launched a full-scale offensive. The party established an internal ‘Coingate Fact-Finding Task Force (TF)’ and held its first meeting on the same day to discuss a comprehensive investigation of coin-related matters in the National Assembly, while also deciding to pursue expulsion of Representative Kim through the National Assembly Ethics Committee.

Yoon Jae-ok, the floor leader of the People Power Party, said at the morning floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly, “Looking at the series of events, it seems the word ‘reflection’ does not exist in the Democratic Party’s dictionary,” adding, “Anyone can make mistakes, but reflection is important. Instead, they are brazenly denying responsibility, which is why the public is angry.”

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the party's strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 16th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

Leader Yoon referred to media reports that Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung opposed filing an ethics complaint against Representative Kim Nam-guk at the party’s reform meeting held on the 14th, saying, “In line with this, members of the Democratic Party’s ‘Cheoreomhoe’ defended Representative Kim with sophistry such as ‘Is it necessary to claim morality just because we are progressive?’” He criticized, “This is the height of irrationality, denying even the basic morality of politics. Those in the Democratic Party who demand fact-finding and speak rightly are being ridiculed as ‘watermelons’ by hardline party members.”

He added, “Many citizens are angry at the Democratic Party’s fandom politics and double standards, calling it the Nam-guk incident following the Cho Kuk incident,” and “Looking at the Democratic Party’s moral insensitivity starting from the money envelope scandal, there is no hope for internal resolution.” Lee Cheol-gyu, the party secretary-general, claimed that Representative Kim’s departure from the Democratic Party was ‘irresponsible.’ Lee said, “While he was extremely slow to respond to the public’s demand for detailed explanations, he left the party surprisingly quickly,” and criticized, “He talked about false reports and political oppression but did not submit the key materials requested by the Democratic Party, instead choosing the most irresponsible method of temporarily leaving the party. It is hard not to suspect that he left after receiving a promise of reinstatement from Leader Lee.”

The People Power Party held the first meeting of the internal ‘Coingate Fact-Finding Task Force (TF)’ on the same day. Floor leader Yoon said, “The suspicions against Representative Kim have snowballed over the past ten days, and the public wants to know the truth as soon as possible,” adding, “We intend to use currently available information to expose Representative Kim’s lies and, if possible, also investigate the allegations of lobbying related to play-to-earn (P2E) games.” Floor deputy leader Lee Yang-su also emphasized, “The People Power Party will actively pursue the substantive truth behind various allegations through the Coingate Fact-Finding TF.”

Meanwhile, the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee will begin full-scale activities from this day following the People Power Party’s filing of complaints against Representative Kim for violations of the Conflict of Interest Prevention Act and the Code of Ethics for Members of the National Assembly. The Ethics Committee chairperson, Democratic Party Representative Byun Jae-il, Democratic Party floor deputy leader Song Ki-heon, and People Power Party floor deputy leader Lee Yang-su will meet in the afternoon to discuss the committee’s composition and schedule. The meeting is also expected to cover disciplinary procedures against Representative Kim. The People Power Party is strongly pushing for the highest level of disciplinary action under the National Assembly Act, which is ‘expulsion.’ According to Article 163 of the National Assembly Act, disciplinary actions against members include ▲warning in a public meeting ▲apology in a public meeting ▲suspension of attendance for up to 30 days ▲expulsion. A key People Power Party official said, “(The ruling party) will aggressively push for Representative Kim’s expulsion,” adding, “There is also an opinion within the Democratic Party to file an ethics complaint against him, and since this is a matter of public interest, expulsion is necessary.”