Kang Hoon-sik: "Premising Kim Nam-guk's Voluntary Resignation Is Not Right"… Song Eon-seok: "Must Take Moral Responsibility"

After being embroiled in a multi-billion won cryptocurrency scandal and leaving the Democratic Party, Representative Kim Nam-guk, who disappeared for 17 days and returned to the National Assembly the day before, is facing questions about whether he will voluntarily resign. Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Hoon-sik stated, "It is not right to assume voluntary resignation."

On the 1st, Kang responded to the host's question on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' about the calls for Kim's voluntary resignation from some within the Democratic Party, saying, "Since the matter has been referred to the Ethics Committee, I believe it is right to follow the Ethics Committee's decision," expressing this view.

Independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party of Korea amid controversy over virtual asset (cryptocurrency) trading, is leaving his National Assembly office on the 31st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the same day, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon had stated on the same radio program that Kim's voluntary resignation was necessary.

However, Kang maintains that they must wait for the Ethics Committee's decision. He said, "Kim himself said he would thoroughly explain and clarify everything at the Ethics Committee, so it is appropriate for the lawmakers to make a judgment there. Since the criminal charges or other matters are not yet clear, it is not right to assume voluntary resignation or similar actions beforehand."

People Power Party lawmaker Song Eon-seok, who appeared together, said it is difficult to reach a conclusion in the Ethics Committee and that moral responsibility should be taken. Song said, "As you know, the Ethics Committee is composed equally of ruling and opposition members, and I understand that nearly 50 cases are pending, none of which have been concluded. Because political judgment is involved, it is structured in a way that makes it very difficult to reach a conclusion," adding, "Resignation from the National Assembly is not necessarily because legal issues have been confirmed or because of investigation results from the prosecution or police, but it can be done by taking moral and political responsibility."

Song cited the case of former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook, who resigned due to her father's real estate scandal, saying, "Yoon resigned because of her father's real estate issues, which were not her own and with whom she had little interaction," and criticized, "Kim is currently going down the wrong path."