Park: "Will Include Permanent Status and Composition Method of Ethics Special Committee in the National Assembly Act"
Park Chan-dae, a candidate for the Democratic Party leadership, expressed his opposition on July 30 to the formation of the "Ethics Special Committee with Equal Numbers of Democratic Party and People Power Party Lawmakers," which was passed by the National Assembly Steering Committee, stating that it is "unacceptable."
At a press conference held at the National Assembly's Communication Center that morning, Park criticized, "With half of the Ethics Special Committee members from the People Power Party, it is impossible to judge acts of rebellion."
The Steering Committee had passed a resolution the previous day to form the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee, which discusses disciplinary actions against lawmakers. The Ethics Special Committee is composed of 12 members in total, including the chairperson, with 6 from the Democratic Party and 6 from the People Power Party. Minor parties such as the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and the Progressive Party were excluded.
Park, who listed the responsibilities of the Democratic Party leader as ending rebellion and completing reforms, restoring livelihoods, and winning local elections, stated, "Among these, many people are placing their hopes on a special prosecutor to end rebellion. However, a special prosecutor alone does not guarantee this," he emphasized. "It is also very important to properly utilize existing systems. The Ethics Special Committee is one of them," he highlighted.
He continued, "There are many pending disciplinary and expulsion requests, and these are important matters. How can we allow them to be discussed in a 5-to-5 Ethics Special Committee that cannot even reach a conclusion?" He asserted, "I, Park Chan-dae, will discuss with the Democratic Party's floor leadership to block the shameless demands of the People Power Party and will ensure that not only is the Ethics Special Committee made permanent in the National Assembly Act, but also that its composition method is clearly stipulated."
Park argued that, given the current situation where there are many People Power Party lawmakers who either participated in or supported Yoon Suk-yeol's December 3 Martial Law, or are suspected of interfering in nominations for the 22nd general election, an Ethics Special Committee composed of 5 Democratic Party and 5 People Power Party members would not be able to achieve any results.
He also pointed out that, as standing committees in the National Assembly are formed in accordance with the seat ratio of each party as stipulated by the National Assembly Act, the Ethics Special Committee should be formed in the same way. Park stated, "Currently, all standing committees in the National Assembly are composed according to the seat ratio of each party, as stipulated by the National Assembly Act. If the Ethics Special Committee is composed in the same way as the standing committees, all problems will be resolved," he said, reiterating, "I will amend the National Assembly Act so that the method of forming standing committees is also applied to the Ethics Special Committee."
He added, "Now is a grave time when we must discuss disciplinary actions and expulsion for those who participated in or supported rebellion, and I will ensure that the Ethics Special Committee is normalized to contribute to ending rebellion," he stressed.
When a reporter asked after the press conference whether the intention was that the composition of the Ethics Special Committee should change starting from this session, he replied, "If it is composed 6-to-6, even if someone deeply involved in obstructing the arrest of former President Yoon Suk-yeol in relation to the rebellion situation is found to have evidence or criminal charges, the decision on disciplinary action would be made by the People Power Party. That is not desirable," he pointed out.
No Jong-myeon, a Democratic Party lawmaker who attended the press conference, also told reporters that the appointment of the chairperson and members of the Ethics Special Committee must be approved by the plenary session, adding, "The Ethics Special Committee has not yet been fully formed. The process is not over, so we have issued our position quickly." He continued, "The most recent precedent does not fit the current political situation, and according to earlier practices, it would be more persuasive for the committee to be composed of five from the ruling party, including the People Power Party, and five from the opposition. I cannot agree with the 6-to-6 composition between the Democratic Party and People Power Party, nor with the exclusion of minor parties," he emphasized.
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