Kim Ki-hyun: "Lee Jae-myung saves Kim Nam-guk with 'Coin Resolution'... Why not expel him?"

"Disciplinary Proposal Should Be Referred Directly to the Plenary Session for Expulsion"

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, repeatedly pressured Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 21st to expel lawmaker Kim Nam-guk from his parliamentary position. Earlier, Kim Nam-guk had left the party amid allegations of large-scale cryptocurrency trading and holdings.

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@

On the same day, Kim posted on his social media, "Why does Leader Lee not take action to expel lawmaker Kim Nam-guk? Is there something he is hiding?" He added, "Leader Lee, who is busy saving Kim Nam-guk with a 'Coin Alliance' surpassing the 'Oath of the Peach Garden,' should stop trying to secretly open a back door for Kim to escape and hide, and actively push for Kim's expulsion by directly submitting the disciplinary bill to the National Assembly plenary session."

He also criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "Where has the 'shameless' determination of the Democratic Party gone, which just a year ago, for the reason of standing firmly against the infamous 'complete prosecution reform' law, directly submitted my disciplinary bill to the plenary session without even convening an ethics committee and swiftly processed it?" He continued, "Are you going to neglect lawmaker Kim, who has thrown away even the minimum conscience as a public official, allowing him to enjoy paid leave and just 'eat and run' at rest stops?"

This referred back to the incident in April last year when the ruling and opposition parties were at odds over the complete prosecution reform bill, and Kim Ki-hyun occupied the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to disrupt the meeting. The Democratic Party submitted a disciplinary bill, which was directly referred to the plenary session and swiftly processed. At that time, Kim Ki-hyun was suspended from attending the National Assembly for 30 days, but the Constitutional Court granted a provisional injunction suspending the effect of the disciplinary action.

Kim said, "It seems that Leader Lee and the Democratic Party intend to drag out the disciplinary bill against lawmaker Kim through the shield of the Ethics Committee," and warned, "If they persist in preventing Kim Nam-guk's expulsion, the public will face a situation where they expel Leader Lee instead," urging Lee to make a decisive move.

He also addressed lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, emphasizing, "Kim Nam-guk, who has engaged in immoral acts behind the scenes while pretending to be a clean young politician and committed a 'coin eat-and-run,' should stop deceiving the public with the trick of voluntary resignation from the party and once again be urged to relinquish his parliamentary seat today."