PPP Ethics Committee Decides Not to Discipline Kwon Youngse and Lee Yangsoo Over Presidential Candidate Replacement Attempt

"Not a unilateral decision by the leadership...
No pursuit of personal gain"

The Ethics Committee of the People Power Party decided on September 11 not to discipline Assemblyman Kwon Youngse, who was the Emergency Response Committee Chairman at the time, and Assemblyman Lee Yangsoo, who was the Secretary-General, for leading the attempt to replace the presidential candidate during the last presidential election.

Yeo Sangwon, the chairperson of the Ethics Committee, met with reporters at the party headquarters in Yeouido after the meeting and stated, "The case concluded with a decision not to impose any disciplinary action." He explained that the decision to close the review means that the committee determined there were no grounds for legal action and thus concluded the matter.

Yonhap News Agency

During the June 3 presidential election, the leadership of the People Power Party conducted a party member vote to replace the presidential candidate from former candidate Kim Moonsoo to former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo. This was due to the perception that Kim was reluctant to unify with Han, as he had previously promised. However, the attempt to change the candidate was ultimately unsuccessful due to opposition in the party member vote. As a result, in July, the Party Affairs Audit Committee requested the Ethics Committee to suspend the party membership of the two individuals for three years, arguing that they attempted to replace the candidate without any basis in the party constitution or regulations.

Chairperson Yeo explained, "It was not just Kwon Youngse and Lee Yangsoo who discussed the candidate replacement. The decision was made through internal debate within the emergency committee, so it cannot be seen as an arbitrary or unilateral action by the two individuals."

He also cited the fact that the court had dismissed Kim's applications for an injunction to recognize his candidacy and to prohibit the holding of a party convention. Chairperson Yeo argued, "The court recognized the autonomy of the political party, and the leadership has no choice but to follow that legal judgment."

The motivation behind the attempt to replace the candidate was also considered. Chairperson Yeo stated, "The leadership simply wanted to put forward the most viable candidate to compete against Lee Jaemyung. It was a decision made out of responsibility, not for personal gain, and it was something that someone in their position had to do." He added that both individuals took political responsibility by resigning from their positions as Emergency Committee Chairman and Secretary-General.

In response, Assemblyman Kwon commented, "I believe the Party Affairs Audit Committee acted in a biased manner and was motivated by political interests. I am grateful to the chairperson and the Ethics Committee for making the right decision."