Han Dongsu: "Possible Violation of the Real Name Financial Transactions Act... A Very Serious Breach of Discipline"
The Ethics Tribunal of the Democratic Party of Korea announced on August 7 that it has confirmed the existence of grounds for expulsion regarding Representative Lee Choonseok, who is under suspicion for alleged stock trading under borrowed names, as well as Cha, an aide suspected of lending his name for such transactions.
Han Dongsu, head of the Democratic Party’s Ethics Tribunal, met with reporters at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the same day following an Ethics Tribunal meeting. He stated, "Public officials affiliated with the Democratic Party are obligated to comply with the party’s code of ethics," and explained the decision.
On August 5, Representative Lee was caught by media cameras in the National Assembly plenary chamber checking a stock account and appearing to place an order on his mobile phone. The account in question was registered under the name of his aide, Cha. The account included stocks such as Naver and LG CNS. The controversy escalated because Representative Lee, as head of the Economic Subcommittee 2 of the National Policy Planning Committee, was leading the national AI flagship project.
Although Representative Lee maintained that he had never engaged in stock trading under a borrowed name, the controversy intensified after the party referred the case to the Ethics Tribunal. He subsequently left the party, stating that he did not wish to cause further harm to the party. Democratic Party leader Jung Cheongrae has already taken expulsion measures against Representative Lee.
Chairman Han stated, "As confirmed by various media reports, Representative Lee’s act of trading stocks using a borrowed-name account in the plenary chamber constitutes a violation of Article 6 (Duty of Integrity) and Article 7 (Duty of Diligence) of the ethics code," and added, "Such conduct violates the duty of diligence required of elected officials and may also constitute a violation of the Real Name Financial Transactions Act, making it a very serious breach of discipline."
He continued, "The Ethics Tribunal also found that Representative Lee violated Article 11 of the ethics code regarding the duty to prevent and avoid conflicts of interest. Serving as head of the Economic Subcommittee 2 of the National Policy Planning Committee while trading AI-related stocks raised significant conflict of interest concerns."
Regarding Cha, Han stated, "We have also confirmed the existence of grounds for disciplinary action," criticizing, "The act of apparently lending a stock account in his own name to Representative Lee is considered a violation of Article 5 (Duty to Maintain Dignity) and Article 6 (Duty of Integrity) of the ethics code."
When asked whether stock trading during last year’s National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit influenced the decision, Han explained, "We reviewed the overall situation through media reports and the Ethics Tribunal’s investigation results, which led to this decision."
When asked, "Representative Lee claimed it was not a borrowed-name account. Did he admit to the borrowed-name transaction?" Han responded, "We considered such statements as well, and after comprehensively reviewing all media reports and the Ethics Tribunal’s internal investigation results, this decision was reached." This indicates that the decision was based on publicly available statements and internal materials rather than direct statements from the individuals involved. Regarding the duration of Cha’s expulsion, Han replied, "We cannot disclose all the details of the internal discussions."
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