Democratic Party Decides to Reinstate Kim Hong-gul, Third Son of DJ... 'After 2 Years and 10 Months Since Expulsion'

The Democratic Party of Korea decided on the 7th to reinstate Assemblyman Kim Hong-gul.

Kim Byung-gi, the party's senior deputy secretary-general, said after the party affairs committee meeting held at the National Assembly that day, "As a result of investigating allegations of misuse of subsidies by Assemblyman Kim, no circumstances or evidence were found to suggest his involvement." This means that the conditions for Kim's reinstatement have been finally met. The Democratic Party had previously held a party affairs committee meeting on the 9th of last month to review Kim's reinstatement, but postponed the decision due to the need for further verification regarding allegations of subsidy misuse related to the North Korea salt support project.

Deputy Secretary-General Kim stated, "After Representative Kim stepped down as standing chairman in August 2020, it was concluded that poor management of subsidy projects was the cause of the incident," adding, "There is currently no specific reason to implicate Assemblyman Kim in relation to the salt issue."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He explained, "The previous party affairs committee was scheduled to approve the reinstatement, but it was postponed due to the Minhwahyeop case," and added, "(Issues such as real estate) have all been resolved, leading to the conclusion that the reinstatement conditions have been fulfilled."

Assemblyman Kim, who was elected through proportional representation for the Democratic Party, was expelled from the party during the last general election due to allegations of undeclared assets. Although he was indicted on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act, he received a fine of 800,000 won and did not lose his assembly seat. Earlier, the Democratic Party decided at the supreme council meeting in April to reinstate both Assemblyman Kim and Assemblyman Min Hyung-bae. Since Assemblyman Min voluntarily left the party, his reinstatement was straightforward, but because Assemblyman Kim was expelled, further discussion was required at the party affairs committee.

Assemblyman Kim returned to the Democratic Party after about two years and ten months since his expulsion in September 2020.