Gwangju Democratic Party Launches Disciplinary Action Against Suspects of Illegal Party Member Recruitment

Three City Council Members and One District Mayor Under Clarification Process per Central Party Guidelines
Severity of Disciplinary Action to Be Determined by Number of Violations
Nominations Expected to Be Impacted

Tension is mounting in Gwangju's political circles ahead of the June 3 local elections next year, after it was confirmed that the Democratic Party of Korea has notified each city and provincial party of disciplinary guidelines based on the number of illegally recruited party members. The Gwangju City Party received a list of individuals subject to disciplinary action from the central party and has initiated a clarification process with those involved. Depending on the severity of the disciplinary measures, the candidate nomination landscape could be significantly affected.

The Democratic Party of Korea issued disciplinary guidelines based on the number of illegally recruited party members to city and provincial parties, and the Gwangju City Party has initiated a clarification process targeting three city council members and others. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

According to Gwangju's political community on December 23, the Democratic Party's Gwangju City Party received a list of individuals suspected of illegal party member recruitment from the central party and has requested detailed explanations from those concerned. So far, about three incumbent city council members are reportedly included on the list of those facing disciplinary action. One incumbent district mayor is also on the list but is said to be strongly denying the allegations.

The central party is understood to have sent each city and provincial party an official document that included the list of individuals subject to disciplinary action, along with criteria distinguishing between severe and minor disciplinary measures based on the scale of illegal party member recruitment. While the Gwangju City Party has not disclosed the specific criteria, local political circles speculate that recruiting around 20 illegal members may be the threshold for distinguishing between severe and minor disciplinary actions.

If severe disciplinary action is finalized, measures such as suspension of party membership could effectively make it difficult for those involved to secure nominations in next year's local elections, raising the possibility of a significant shift in the primary race.

However, the Gwangju City Party has stated that it will not determine the severity of disciplinary action solely based on the number of violations. Yang Bunam, head of the Democratic Party's Gwangju City Party, said, "We cannot judge disciplinary action for illegal party member recruitment based solely on numbers," adding, "Through the Ethics Tribunal, we will thoroughly review the explanations provided by those involved to ensure that no unfair cases occur when determining the level of disciplinary action."

Previously, in the Jeonnam region, cases of illegal party member recruitment were uncovered, resulting in severe disciplinary action against an incumbent county governor from the Democratic Party and prospective local election candidates.