Kim Jaewon: "What Kind of Party is the Democratic Party... Kim Namguk's Expulsion Will Fizzle Out"

Amid growing attention on whether the expulsion of Rep. Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party of Korea due to a major virtual asset controversy, will actually take place following the National Assembly Ethics Committee Advisory Board's recommendation for expulsion the previous day, Kim Jae-won, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, criticized, saying, "They only talk about expulsion, but it will just fizzle out."

On the 21st, Kim, a Supreme Council member, said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "Right now, there is a practical issue where all members have to be shielded because they are desperately defending Representative Lee Jae-myung," expressing this view.

The Ethics Committee reviewed disciplinary proposals submitted by both ruling and opposition parties the previous day and recommended the expulsion of Rep. Kim. However, for Kim to actually be expelled, two-thirds of the total members must vote in favor.

Kim, the Supreme Council member, said, "Our party's former Rep. Kwak Sang-do initially left the party amid a 5 billion won bribery suspicion, but when our party insisted on expulsion, in such cases, if the Democratic Party agrees and our party also participates in the expulsion, wouldn't two-thirds of the National Assembly members move to expel? So, former Rep. Kwak resigned his seat and closed the matter that way," adding, "The People Power Party makes such efforts for self-purification, but what kind of party is the Democratic Party? That can't happen."

Regarding whether Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who is under controversy for playing golf during flood damage, will face disciplinary actions such as suspension of party membership rights, Kim said, "It doesn't have special significance. Unless it's a suspension of speaking rights, which would be a major sanction, that is impossible," and added, "Since he is a local government head, rather than measures like suspension of party membership rights, I think a warning or something at the warning level would be appropriate."

Mayor Hong also escalated the controversy by arguing, "Why can I play tennis on weekends but not golf?" In response, Kim, the Supreme Council member, pointed out, "(Due to the flood) there was a large-scale human casualty, and our party has specific regulations regarding golf. If such regulations exist, then making such remarks afterward to justify them might have actually shocked the public even more," he said.