Sejong City Councilor Sang Byunheon Awaits Court Verdict... Appointed to Ethics Committee

Chairman Kim Chungsik: "He Will Be Excluded from the Meeting"

Sejong Special Self-Governing City Council Building. / Photo by Kim Giwan, Chungcheong Reporting Headquarters

The first trial verdict for Sang Byunheon, a member of the Democratic Party and a Sejong City Council member, who was indicted and brought to trial after being investigated for charges of indecent assault, will be held at 2 p.m. on July 24 in Courtroom 317 of the Daejeon District Court. The verdict for the incident, which occurred in August 2022, is now just three days away.

Councilor Sang was indicted not only for indecent assault against two male fellow council members but also for filing a false accusation against a colleague with the intent to have them criminally punished, resulting in an additional charge of false accusation. At the sentencing hearing last month, the prosecution requested a two-year prison sentence, an order for public disclosure and notification, a completion order, and a 10-year employment restriction for Sang.

Under the Criminal Act, the statutory penalty for indecent assault is imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 15 million won, and attempts are also punishable. Similarly, the crime of false accusation is punishable by imprisonment for up to 10 years or a fine of up to 15 million won.

It has been confirmed that Councilor Sang, who is in this situation, was appointed as a member of the Sejong City Council Special Ethics Committee (hereafter, Ethics Committee), leading to negative reactions. This is because the Ethics Committee is responsible for reviewing disciplinary measures for council members and, in severe cases, even discussing expulsion.

According to an investigation by , Councilor Sang was appointed to the Ethics Committee as a result of a direct swap of members between the Special Budget and Accounts Committee (hereafter, Budget Committee) and the Ethics Committee. In other words, the 10 members of the Ethics Committee and the 10 members of the Budget Committee exchanged their committee assignments with each other.

Particularly, there are concerns that Councilor Sang, who is currently a defendant in a criminal case and awaiting a first trial verdict, might gain sympathy from his fellow members on the Ethics Committee or exert indirect influence as a second-term councilor in determining the level of disciplinary action. This is because, regardless of whether he appeals the first trial verdict if convicted, the council's Ethics Committee will independently review and decide the level of disciplinary action. Many believe that in such a scenario, there is a possibility that the committee members, who are colleagues of Sang, may be influenced by compassion rather than the substance of the verdict when deciding on disciplinary measures.

Kim Chungsik, chairman of the Budget Committee, said in a phone interview with a reporter, "Although Councilor Sang is listed as a member of the special committee, if a meeting regarding disciplinary action for indecent assault is held in the future, he will be excluded from the proceedings."