Changwon City Council Faces Aftermath of 'Gagopa' Ruling and Opposition Conflict ... Calls for Disciplinary Action Against Council Members

The conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over the ordinance to change the name of the Masan Chrysanthemum Festival in Changwon, Gyeongnam, to the Masan Gagopa Chrysanthemum Festival has escalated into demands for disciplinary action against council members.

Thirteen Changwon City Council members from the People Power Party submitted a disciplinary request against Culture, Environment, and City Committee Chairperson Jung Sunwook, claiming that a so-called "violent incident" occurred during the process of handling the Changwon City Festival Ordinance amendment.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, during the 137th special session, the Changwon City Council convened a Special Ethics Committee to discuss whether to discipline Chairperson Jung and to determine the level of any disciplinary action.

This was in response to allegations that, during the 136th special session in July, Chairperson Jung abused his authority by declaring a recess without convening the standing committee and used violence against a council member from the ruling party.

At the time, during the plenary session of the special meeting, both ruling and opposition council members made personal statements regarding the standing committee incident, with each side claiming, "I was assaulted," and "I was pushed."

One People Power Party council member stated, "Chairperson Jung declared a recess without any particular reason and ignored the members' requests to resume. That day, he tried to leave after declaring a recess. As I tried to block his exit in protest, the chairperson pushed me aside and left. When I protested, Chairperson Jung accused me of putting on a show."

Chairperson Jung countered, "I was trying to replace the statement of reasons for not submitting the agenda with a written document and declare a recess, but they protested by grabbing the gavel and tried to confine me so I couldn't leave. There needs to be swift action against suppressing personal freedom, physical confinement, and using loud voices to intimidate in order to achieve one's goals."

The Democratic Party of Korea's Changwon Special City Council members in Gyeongnam are holding a press conference in protest of Councilor Jeong Sunwook's referral to the Ethics Committee.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

The Democratic Party city council members held an emergency press conference at the Changwon City Hall press center immediately after the Ethics Committee meeting, emphasizing, "The City Council Ethics Committee must not be exploited for the political interests of a particular party."

The council members explained, "That day, there was a mandatory legal education session on the Anti-Graft Act, but the standing committee was suddenly convened at the request of People Power Party members. Democratic Party members could not attend this one-sidedly convened meeting, and only People Power Party members and Chairperson Jung were present."

They continued, "Chairperson Jung had already explained multiple times in writing through the standing committee why the ordinance to change the festival name was not being submitted during the 136th special session. The council member who blocked Chairperson Jung from leaving and temporarily confined him in protest of his declaration of recess and attempt to leave is now the one referring him to the Ethics Committee."

The Democratic Party also pointed out the problem that the Ethics Committee is not composed equally between the ruling and opposition parties.

"Currently, the Ethics Committee consists of five People Power Party members and three Democratic Party members, so the majority party could use its numerical advantage for political purposes. The Ethics Committee is composed of members from the Council Operations Committee, but unlike the previous third and fourth terms, this time the ratio does not match and the imbalance was carried over," they said.

"The Ethics Committee should be composed equally, not in proportion to the number of seats each party holds," they said. "We will do everything possible, including legal action, to prevent the Ethics Committee from becoming a political tool for any particular group."

Chairperson Jung stated, "At the time, my left hand was holding the door handle and my right hand was in the door gap. If I had pushed or pulled the People Power Party council member, my body or the door would have moved, but the fact that the council member fell to the side seems to have been staged to make it look violent."

After its first meeting, the Ethics Committee plans to conduct a disciplinary review of Chairperson Jung, with advice from the Ethics Review Secretariat and others.

Once the decision on whether to discipline and the level of disciplinary action is made, the review report will be submitted to the City Council plenary session for a secret ballot vote.