Democratic Party Heavily Disciplines Three Nonsan City Council Members for Collusion with People Power Party, Suspends Membership for Two Years

Participated in the Vote in Defiance of Party Policy During the Latter Half's Leadership Formation
Effectively Barred from Running in Next Year's General and Local Elections

Nonsan City Council View

Three members of the Democratic Party of Korea on the Nonsan City Council in South Chungcheong Province, who were accused of colluding with the People Power Party in violation of party policy during the latter half of last year’s council leadership formation, have received a two-year suspension of party membership from the party’s central committee.

According to an Asia Economy report on July 30, the Democratic Party’s Central Ethics Tribunal convened on July 29 and decided to impose a two-year suspension of party membership on Council Chair Cho Yonghun, as well as council members Kim Jonguk and Min Byungchun.

These council members became the subject of controversy after it was revealed that, during the process of forming the 9th Nonsan City Council’s leadership in June 2024, they did not accept the results of the party’s internal primary and participated in the plenary vote, cooperating with the People Power Party.

At the time, Democratic Party council members held an unofficial meeting at the office of Council Member Hwang Myungseon and nominated Council Member Cho Baesik as their candidate for chair. However, in the plenary session, Council Member Cho Yonghun was elected.

Additionally, Kim Jonguk and Min Byungchun were elected as the chairs of the Operations Committee and the Administrative and Autonomy Committee, respectively, instead of the originally designated Democratic Party council members, prompting criticism within the party of “collusion with the People Power Party.”

Some Democratic Party council members argued that “the failure of the Executive Committee’s decision was due to certain members colluding with the People Power Party,” and had been calling for severe disciplinary action.

This disciplinary measure will be finalized through a resolution by the Central Standing Committee. If confirmed, the affected council members will not be able to run as Democratic Party candidates in next year’s local elections, effectively putting their political careers in jeopardy.

Currently, the Nonsan City Council consists of 13 seats, with the Democratic Party holding 7 and the People Power Party holding 6. While the Democratic Party maintains a majority, significant changes in the party’s internal power structure are expected depending on the political moves of the disciplined council members.

A Democratic Party central committee official told Asia Economy by phone, “We have imposed a two-year suspension of party membership on the council members in question.”