The Seo-gu Council of Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 15th that it has finally decided on the disciplinary action of ‘public apology and 30-day suspension from attendance’ against Councilor Kim Oksu, who was referred to the Ethics Special Committee in March, during the 321st extraordinary session.
Councilor Kim Oksu claimed that the election results of the Seo-gu Council’s first half chairperson team held in July 2022 were illegal and filed a lawsuit to invalidate the chairperson election against fellow councilors and the council secretariat. However, the Supreme Court ruling in March confirmed that there was no illegality in the chairperson election.
In the ruling, the Supreme Court stated, “Regarding the act of selecting an internal chairperson candidate, Seo-gu Council cannot be seen as undermining party democracy and representative democracy, and Councilor Kim Oksu’s demand for clarification exceeded the authority of the acting chairperson responsible for conducting the chairperson election.”
After confirming that there was no illegality in the chairperson election, the Seo-gu Council referred Councilor Kim to the Ethics Special Committee on the grounds of “Article 44 of the Local Autonomy Act, Article 3 of the Seo-gu Council Code of Ethics and Ethical Practice Regulations,” stating that Kim’s repeated claims of election invalidity through various media and filing lawsuits “damaged the status and honor of the Seo-gu Council and impaired the dignity as a basic councilor.”
However, even after losing the case, Councilor Kim stated in a personal remarks session at the plenary meeting in March this year, “I will not accept any unfair disciplinary action other than withdrawal,” and after attending the Ethics Review Advisory Committee meeting held on April 11 and being recommended to issue a ‘public apology,’ he again stated in a five-minute free speech and position statement at the 321st extraordinary session on May 9, “It is absurd to be disciplined by the ethical standards of junior councilors for legitimate council activities. This is an attempt to hurt an independent councilor out of inferiority complex,” thereby denying the court ruling and publicly damaging the honor of fellow councilors through his remarks.
Accordingly, after reviewing the advisory opinion of the Ethics Review Advisory Committee and deliberating through two meetings, the Seo-gu Council Ethics Special Committee finalized the disciplinary action of Councilor Kim as ‘public apology and 30-day suspension from attendance’ at the plenary meeting on the 14th.
Im Seonghwa, Chairperson of the Ethics Special Committee, said, “Local councilors exist as representatives of the sovereign district residents, and their purpose is to end wasteful and confrontational politics. Taking this incident as an opportunity, we will strive to become a Seo-gu Council that communicates more and cooperates warmly so as not to be ashamed in the future.”
Shin Dongho, Honam Reporting Headquarters, Asia Economy bless4ya@asiae.co.kr
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