Cheonan City Council Member Faces Controversy for Attending Political Rallies with Staff..."Ethics Chair Should Be Referred to Ethics Committee"

Attending Rallies Opposing the President's Impeachment and Protesting the "Illegal Arrest of the Incumbent President" with a Grade 7 Special Appointment Legislative Assistant
Government Employees' Union: "Clear Abuse of Authority"... Lee Sanggu, City Council Member: "There Was No Coercion"

Bottom left is Assemblyman Lee Sanggu, inside the circle is legislative assistant A. (Provided by a People Power Party official)

Controversy has arisen as it was revealed that Kim Haenggeum, the chairperson of Cheonan City Council in South Chungcheong Province, affiliated with the People Power Party, attended the party’s national convention to select its presidential candidate using an official vehicle accompanied by a driver. In addition, another city council member from the same party has also come under fire for attending rallies opposing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol together with a staff member.

Lee Sanggu, the chair of the Ethics Committee, was found to have attended political rallies such as the "Protest Against the Illegal Arrest of the Incumbent President" and the "Rally Against the Impeachment of the President" in February, accompanied by A, a Grade 7 special appointment legislative assistant who is a public official.

Furthermore, Lee also attended the People Power Party Cheonan Party Committee’s New Year event in January this year and the launch ceremony of the Cheonan Party Committee Youth Volunteer Group in October last year, both times accompanied by A.

The Cheonan City Council operates an ordinance to support the legislative activities of council members with severe disabilities. Under this ordinance, staff are hired to assist council members with disabilities in their legislative work.

According to the ordinance, these staff members are responsible for providing assistance with physical activities, mobility, work, information access, and communication to facilitate smooth legislative activities.

However, it was revealed that Lee called upon A for personal reasons to attend various political rallies, including rallies opposing the impeachment of the president, as well as local party committee events for the People Power Party, assigning tasks unrelated to legislative activities.

Notably, as chair of the Ethics Committee, Lee is in a position where, if Democratic Party-affiliated council members submit Kim Haenggeum to the Ethics Special Committee for disciplinary action over her private use of an official vehicle and driver as previously announced, he would be responsible for determining the level of disciplinary action and reporting it to the plenary session.

Regarding this, one Cheonan City Council member stated, "We are in a situation where the chair of the Ethics Committee should be referred to the Ethics Committee," adding, "If he acknowledges his wrongdoing, he should step down from his position immediately."

Another council member remarked, "I understand that another People Power Party-affiliated council member has also used the vehicle driven by A (together with Lee) because it is convenient for transportation and parking (as it is a parking space for people with disabilities)," emphasizing, "There is a need to sound the alarm over the complacent attitude of some council members who treat public officials like servants."

Lee Youngjun, chair of the Cheonan City Government Employees’ Union, said, "Using a public official for personal purposes is a clear abuse of authority," calling for firm action and measures to prevent recurrence.

Lee Sanggu explained, "It is true that I received assistance from A to attend political rallies and party events, but there was no coercion," adding, "A only helped with driving the vehicle or moving the wheelchair and did not participate in any political activities."