The Democratic Party city council members of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, have announced their intention to boycott the upcoming council training session, expressing dissatisfaction with the chairman's management of the council.
On October 22, the Democratic Party city council members held a press conference at the Changwon City Hall press center, stating, "We condemn Chairman Son Taehwa's authoritarian and unfair management of the council and will boycott the council training session scheduled from November 3 to 5."
They criticized the decision made during the previous day's plenary session, in which a Democratic Party council member's request for a personal statement was denied, calling it "a clear abuse of decision-making authority and a loss of fairness."
They also pointed out that a complaint related to the council member, which was sent to the city council by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, was referred to the Ethics Committee without any interview with the person concerned or a fact-finding process, thereby depriving the member of the opportunity to defend themselves.
The Democratic Party city council members of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, are holding a press conference condemning Son Taehwa, the chairman of the Changwon City Council. Photo by Lee Seryeong
They explained that the official document from the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission requested that the results of an internal investigation regarding the complaint be reported by December 1, and that the council's rules of procedure stipulate that if there is a member subject to disciplinary action, it should be reported to the plenary session and referred to the Ethics Committee. However, they argued that Chairman Son arbitrarily determined the council member as a subject of disciplinary action.
Kim Myojeong, the floor leader, stated, "The chairman often says whatever he wants into the microphone, even making inappropriate and excessive remarks to certain council members, while other members are unable to speak at all due to being denied the right to speak. This situation can be seen as an act of tyranny."
She continued, "When we approached the chairman and said that unless he apologizes for this, we would consider boycotting the training session, Chairman Son responded that since the Democratic Party boycotted last time, we should do so again this time. This is a statement that incites conflict, even though the chairman should be leading cooperation and harmony."
She urged, "Chairman Son should officially apologize to the council member in question and announce measures to prevent a recurrence of this issue. He should also work to restore a council culture centered on communication, where all members are equally respected."
The Democratic Party city council members decided not to attend the training session, which is held to enhance legislative expertise and promote communication and harmony between the ruling and opposition parties in preparation for the regular session, and instead to hold a separate internal workshop.
In response, Chairman Son expressed regret, stating, "When I referred the disciplinary request during the 4th plenary session of the 146th extraordinary session on September 12, I did not violate any regulations or abuse my authority."
He explained, "On September 1, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission notified us of suspicions regarding violations of Article 10-3 of the Code of Conduct for Local Council Members and Article 5 of the Changwon City Council Members' Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct Ordinance. In accordance with Article 91 of the council's rules of procedure, I reported it to the plenary session and referred it to the Special Ethics Committee."
Chairman Son rebutted, "The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission completed the investigation and sent the findings to the council, and an internal investigation by the Ethics Committee is currently underway. The claim that there was no fact-finding or internal investigation is not true."
He added, "The internal investigation is conducted by the Ethics Committee according to laws and ordinances, not by the chairman, and the claim that the chairman arbitrarily determines disciplinary subjects is groundless. Once the Ethics Committee's investigation results are available, they are sent to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission."
Regarding the claim that the right to speak was denied, he stated, "The council member requested to make a personal statement before the plenary session on the 21st, but during the process of asking about the content, I judged it to be similar to the previous personal statement and denied the request. The reason for not granting the right to speak regarding the procedural statement was that the member was trying to discuss 'the right to defend,' which is not related to the proceedings of the meeting."
Chairman Son emphasized, "Since I took office, all eight disciplinary requests submitted have been reported to the plenary session and referred according to the same procedure, without exception. Everything has been conducted in accordance with laws and ordinances without any procedural flaws, and nothing has been done arbitrarily."
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