YTN 'News King Park Ji-hoon' Appearance
"Returning as Supreme Council Member After 11 Months"
Kim Jae-won, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party who was disciplined with a 'one-year suspension of party membership rights' due to a series of verbal mistakes, stated, "The suspension of party membership rights means that voting rights or eligibility for election as a party member are restricted," adding, "The status as a politician and Supreme Council member is still maintained."
On the 31st, Kim appeared on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' and said, "About 20 days have passed. After a little over 11 months, I should return as a Supreme Council member," expressing this view.
Regarding criticism from some quarters that the self-restraint period was too short, Kim said, "Even during the one-month self-restraint period, despite numerous unreasonable criticisms and attacks, I remained silent as a form of self-restraint, but absurd and ridiculous stories spread everywhere," adding, "I thought that was the punishment, but after that self-restraint period ended, the actual punishment began."
He continued, "The disciplinary procedures have all been completed, and now I am acting as a politician accordingly," emphasizing, "That is my role."
Regarding Tae Young-ho, who was also referred to the Ethics Committee and received a 'three-month suspension of party membership rights,' he said, "If he resigns as a Supreme Council member, it's three months; if not, one year. This is, in my opinion, a somewhat excessive political judgment by the Ethics Committee," adding, "However, raising issues about the Ethics Committee's operation by filing for a retrial or injunction would only cause more noise, so we just let it go."
Concerning North Korea's projectile launch that morning, he speculated, "North Korea has claimed to be launching satellites, but most of these were tests or mock launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Since our country recently succeeded in launching a satellite, I suspect North Korea launched an intercontinental ballistic missile disguised as a satellite."
He added, "From the perspective of our people, there is a question of whether we should just watch North Korea's provocations and continue as is," and said, "We now need to prepare for space warfare and go beyond just the deployment of the U.S. THAAD and Patriot systems, considering a Korean-style defense system comparable to the Iron Dome."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
