National Assembly Forms Ethics Committee to Review 29 Disciplinary Motions Against Lawmakers

Democratic Party and People Power Party to Have Equal Representation of Six Members Each

On July 29, the National Assembly formed the Special Committee on Ethics, which reviews disciplinary actions against lawmakers, one year and two months after the opening of the 22nd National Assembly.

National Assembly Building, Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

The National Assembly Steering Committee held a plenary meeting at 11:00 a.m. that day and passed the resolution to form the Ethics Committee.

The Ethics Committee will be composed of six members from the Democratic Party and six members from the People Power Party. Its term of activity is set for ten months, until May 29 of next year.

The Ethics Committee, which is a non-permanent special committee, had been inactive for one year and two months after its term ended during the 21st National Assembly. During this period, 29 disciplinary motions against lawmakers were pending. Recently, as disputes between the ruling and opposition parties intensified, the formation of the Ethics Committee gained momentum.

Currently, there are 29 disciplinary motions pending in the 22nd National Assembly. Major motions include a resolution submitted by Democratic Party lawmaker Park Chan-dae calling for the expulsion of 45 People Power Party lawmakers, a disciplinary motion against Kang Sunwoo submitted by the People Power Party, and a disciplinary motion against Lee Junseok jointly submitted by five opposition parties.

The Ethics Committee is expected to be formally launched after a plenary vote, after which it will finalize the selection of its members and begin reviewing the disciplinary motions. However, for a lawmaker to be expelled, at least two-thirds (200 members) of all lawmakers must vote in favor, so it remains uncertain whether any actual disciplinary action will be taken.

In the previous 21st National Assembly, a total of 53 disciplinary motions were submitted, but only one was passed as originally proposed. According to the National Assembly Act, there are four types of disciplinary actions against lawmakers: a warning in a public meeting, an apology in a public meeting, suspension from attendance for up to 30 days, and expulsion.