PPP Ethics Committee Imposes One-Year Suspension of Party Membership on Bae Hyunjin...Will She Lose Her Seoul Chapter Post?

On February 13, the Central Ethics Committee of the People Power Party decided to impose a one-year suspension of party membership on lawmaker Bae Hyunjin, who serves as the head of the party’s Seoul chapter. Although suspension of party membership does not mean expulsion, her qualification as a party member will be suspended, making it effectively impossible for her, as the Seoul chapter head, to exercise nomination rights for the June 3 local elections.

In a press release issued that day, the Central Ethics Committee of the People Power Party announced, "We impose a one-year suspension of party membership on the party member subject to disciplinary action, Bae Hyunjin, on the grounds of violating Article 20 of the Ethics Committee Regulations and Article 4, Paragraph 1, Subparagraphs 2, 6, and 7 of the Code of Ethics."

Yonhap News Agency

According to the Central Ethics Committee, the cases involving Assemblywoman Bae are: (1) posting defamatory content on social networking services (SNS) about former President Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Keon Hee; (2) posting SNS content that disparaged and mocked the hunger strike by Representative Jang Donghyuk; (3) posting, without authorization, a photo of a minor child on an SNS account; and (4) a petition alleging that she used her position and influence as head of the Seoul chapter. Previously, Lee Sangkyu, head of the party chapter for Seongbuk-gu B in Seoul, had filed a petition with the Central Ethics Committee, claiming that Assemblywoman Bae, as Seoul chapter head, led the issuance of a statement opposing disciplinary action against former Representative Han Donghoon and distorted it as if it represented the will of the entire Seoul chapter.

First, the Central Ethics Committee issued a light disciplinary measure of a "warning" regarding the defamatory remarks about former President Yoon and former First Lady Kim. The committee stated, "Although he was impeached, expressions directed at a president produced by our own party and his wife, such as 'vulgar Kim Keon Hee,' 'just a private citizen,' 'a shabby merchant who rolled in,' and 'strange people who fly into a fit when scratched,' can, depending on how they are heard, be interpreted as highly aggressive, excessive, hateful, and overly defamatory."

Regarding the case involving Representative Jang’s hunger strike, the committee decided to issue a "cautionary urging." It explained that while it is difficult to say the requirements for formal disciplinary action are fully met, Assemblywoman Bae’s expressions were somewhat excessive or aggressive. As for the statement opposing the expulsion of former Representative Han, the committee said it was difficult to verify the facts and therefore reserved judgment.

For the unauthorized posting of a minor child’s photo on an SNS account, the committee imposed the heavy disciplinary measure of a one-year suspension of party membership. Previously, in a post on her SNS about the withdrawal of the nomination of former Minister of Planning and Budget nominee Lee Hyehoon, when an online user left a comment saying, "You just stay still," Assemblywoman Bae posted on SNS, without any mosaic processing, a photo of a minor girl believed to be a family member of that user, adding the caption, "Hanging up your kid’s photo while posting malicious comments." As the controversy grew, she deleted the photo four days later.

The Central Ethics Committee stated, "The act of posting a photo of a minor child on the social media account of the party member subject to disciplinary action may fall under psychological, emotional, insulting, and threatening expression, constitutes defamation against another person, could be behavior that causes discomfort to the general public in an online SNS environment, and, when directed at a minor, runs counter to the ethical sensibilities and public sentiment of ordinary citizens."