Chuncheon City Council member Kim Ji-suk [Chuncheon City Council website]
Chuncheon City Council member Kim Ji-suk [Chuncheon City Council website]

Kim Ji-suk, a three-term Chuncheon city council member from Gangwon Province, has submitted her resignation from the Democratic Party of Korea's Gangwon Province chapter after being booked on charges of causing a drunken disturbance at a local police substation following a taxi fare dispute.

Kim said Tuesday she decided to leave the party to spare it further embarrassment. "I have determined that I can no longer burden the party due to my own fault," she said, adding that she would "deeply reflect on my wrongdoing and do my utmost to restore citizens' trust through sincere and responsible council work."

Kim was booked and is under police investigation for causing a drunken disturbance at the Hupyeong police substation in Chuncheon on the night of July 28.

A taxi driver had brought Kim to the substation after she refused to pay her fare. Police had her settle the fare and sent her on her way, but she returned to the substation and hurled insults at officers, creating a scene.

As the incident drew public criticism, the Democratic Party's Gangwon Province chapter voted July 30 to suspend Kim's party membership for one year.

The day after the disciplinary decision, Kim held a news conference and offered a public apology. "I sincerely apologize for causing great disappointment and concern to the citizens," she said, also apologizing directly to the officer involved and the taxi driver.

Criticism has grown louder after it emerged that Kim had committed a nearly identical offense late last year — boarding a taxi while drunk, refusing to pay, and causing a disturbance at a police substation with the driver present. At the time, the Chuncheon City Council's ethics committee ruled the incident did not warrant disciplinary action and issued only a recommendation to prevent a recurrence.

The Chuncheon City Council plans to convene its ethics committee soon to discuss disciplinary measures against Kim in connection with the latest incident.


betterj@heraldcorp.com