Kim Nam-guk Announces Withdrawal from General Election... Ethics Committee Disciplinary Vote Postponed to 30th

Kim Nam-guk, "Will Not Run in the 22nd General Election Regardless of Disciplinary Action"
Democratic Party's Song Ki-heon, "Must Consider the Withdrawal Declaration"
Ruling Party: "Protecting Our Own"... Criticism of "Double Standards" Also from Within the Opposition

The 1st Subcommittee of the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee decided on the 22nd to postpone the disciplinary action against independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk related to the 'coin trading' controversy by one week. The Democratic Party of Korea argued that Kim's declaration of not running in the general election should be taken into consideration, and accordingly, the Ethics Committee plans to reconvene the 1st Subcommittee on the 30th for a vote.

Lee Yang-su, the chairman of the National Assembly Ethics Committee's 1st Subcommittee and a member of the People Power Party, and Song Ki-heon, the opposition party's Ethics Committee secretary and the Democratic Party's floor deputy leader, met with reporters after the 1st Subcommittee meeting in the afternoon and stated, "We decided to resume the subcommittee at 1:30 p.m. on the 30th and hold a vote."

Independent lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party of Korea amid controversy over virtual asset (cryptocurrency) trading. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Representative Song explained, "We judged that a discussion was necessary on how to evaluate Kim Nam-guk's declaration of not running," adding, "We set a time for reflection before voting and decided to hold the subcommittee once more accordingly."

Representative Lee said, "Since we cannot take the Democratic Party's proposal lightly, we accepted it and decided to postpone it by one week." However, regarding Kim Nam-guk's declaration of not running, he emphasized, "Just because Kim Nam-guk declared he would not run does not mean that what he has done so far disappears."

Earlier that day, Kim had announced on his SNS, "Regardless of the disciplinary review results by the National Assembly Ethics Committee, I will not run in the 22nd general election."

Following Kim's announcement, Democratic Party members of the Ethics Committee proposed postponing the vote, and the Ethics Committee subcommittee was adjourned once in the morning. The meeting resumed at 2 p.m., and Lee Yang-su, the chairman from the People Power Party, ultimately accepted the decision to postpone the vote.

If the Democratic Party does not attend the meeting on the 30th, the vote on the disciplinary action against Kim will not be valid. Furthermore, if there is no agreement to hold further meetings of the Ethics Committee's 1st Subcommittee, the matter of Kim's expulsion will remain pending.

Because of this, voices of opposition have emerged within the party. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-wook criticized via SNS immediately after the party meeting, saying, "The Democratic Party's leniency is hypocrisy," and pointed out, "Kim Nam-guk's declaration of not running in the 22nd general election is a separate issue from the 21st National Assembly Kim Nam-guk coin trading incident." He continued, "What happened in the 21st National Assembly must be strictly evaluated on its own," and argued, "The key judgment is whether to retain the parliamentary seat or not. The declaration of not running cannot dilute the current issue."

The People Power Party also launched an offensive against the decision to postpone the vote, calling it 'protecting their own.' Shin Ju-ho, the standing deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party, issued a statement in the afternoon, saying, "(The request to postpone the vote) appears to be an attempt to grant a self-exoneration so that Kim, a Democratic Party member, can complete his term," and criticized, "They shamelessly intend to pocket all the salary paid with taxpayers' money during the remaining term."

Spokesperson Shin added, "Just because he declared he would not run does not mean that the coin trading, which is a dereliction of a lawmaker's duty, disappears," and urged, "The Democratic Party should stop protecting their own and decisively expel Kim Nam-guk."