Ruling Party: "Kim Kyung Disrupted Party Affairs to Run for Yeongdeungpo District Mayor"
On October 2, the Democratic Party of Korea announced that it had confirmed grounds for disciplinary action equivalent to expulsion for Kim Kyung, a Seoul Metropolitan Council member, who was accused by Jin Jongoh of the People Power Party of orchestrating mass party membership mobilization through a religious organization.
Hanna Kim, Ethics Adjudication Committee Member of the Seoul Democratic Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall that afternoon alongside Choi Kisang, Senior Vice Chairperson of the Seoul Democratic Party, stating, "This morning, the Ethics Adjudication Committee of the Seoul Democratic Party determined that Councilor Kim Kyung has grounds for disciplinary action equivalent to expulsion."
However, the party clarified that while a full investigation of Seoul Democratic Party members is currently underway, there has been no evidence found of large-scale group memberships from a specific religious organization.
Previously, on September 30, Assemblyman Jin held a press conference and revealed, "Kim Kyung, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council's Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee, who is affiliated with the Democratic Party, was found to have obtained the personal information of 3,000 members of a specific religious organization and attempted to use it for the 2026 Democratic Party primary." He also released related audio recordings. There was also an audio file suggesting an attempt to help elect Prime Minister Kim Minseok in next year's local election party primary.
Immediately after Assemblyman Jin's press conference, Democratic Party leader Jung Cheongrae instructed the party's Ethics Inspection Team and the Seoul Democratic Party to conduct a thorough investigation.
Hanna Kim, Ethics Adjudication Committee member of the Seoul Democratic Party, is announcing the investigation results regarding the allegations of mobilizing religious groups during the primary election at the National Assembly Communication Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Yonhap News
However, Kim stated, "Even the informant mentioned by Assemblyman Jin has clarified in media interviews that they did not actually carry out the party membership registration." She further explained, "At the time the recording was made, it was right before the deadline for party membership registration required to obtain voting rights in the primary, and considering the processing and review period for membership applications, it would have been impossible to realize a group membership registration at that time."
She continued, "During the investigation of documents related to party members recommended by Councilor Kim, we confirmed cases that violated the party's constitution and regulations. It appears that Councilor Kim engaged in such actions to interfere with party affairs in order to run in the next local election for the Yeongdeungpo District Mayor position. We sincerely apologize to the public for the concern caused by Councilor Kim's misconduct."
She also mentioned that the memberships of party members who joined upon Councilor Kim's recommendation were invalidated on September 30.
After the press conference, Kim told reporters, "Since Councilor Kim voluntarily left the party, the full investigation proceeded and the Ethics Adjudication Committee confirmed the decision for expulsion. (Regarding violations of party constitution and regulations) this concerns cases where documents were recommended without the individual's intent to join, and instances where individuals did not directly register as members as required by party regulations."
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