Heavy punishment follows fairness complaint over nomination process, raising fears of chilling effect on dissent

Critics question equity of penalty against youth who challenged established political power

Former Seoul city councilman Kim Kyu-nam plans to file an appeal with the People Power Party's central ethics committee, objecting to the two-year suspension of his party membership rights handed down by the Seoul chapter's ethics committee.
Former Seoul city councilman Kim Kyu-nam plans to file an appeal with the People Power Party's central ethics committee, objecting to the two-year suspension of his party membership rights handed down by the Seoul chapter's ethics committee.

The People Power Party's Seoul chapter ethics committee has suspended former Seoul city councilman Kim Kyu-nam's party membership rights for two years, a heavy punishment. Kim called the penalty excessive, saying it stemmed from his raising concerns about fairness and transparency in the nomination process for the local elections. He said he would file an appeal with the party's central ethics committee.

According to political circles Thursday, the Seoul chapter's ethics committee notified Kim of the start of disciplinary proceedings on Aug. 10. It then voted on Sept. 3 to suspend his party membership rights for two years. Kim received the written disciplinary decision on Wednesday.

Under the People Power Party's internal regulations, disciplinary actions are categorized into expulsion, recommendation to leave the party, suspension of party membership rights, and warnings. Since the suspension period is set at between one month and three years, a two-year penalty amounts to a considerably heavy sanction.

The penalty also appears harsh compared with recent sanctions the party's central ethics committee has handed down to sitting National Assembly lawmakers. The central committee voted to suspend Rep. Cho Kyung-tae's party membership rights for two years and six months. It suspended Rep. Kwon Young-jin's for one year and six months, and Rep. Seo Beom-soo's for 10 months.

Kim strongly objected to the decision on his Facebook page, asking, "Are you trying to finish me off with disciplinary action after already knocking me down through the nomination process?"

"If a young person who raised concerns about powerful, established political forces is shackled with a two-year penalty, what young person will dare to speak their mind to the party from now on?" he said.

Kim said he had only raised questions about fairness and transparency in the nomination process for the recent local elections. The process was run by the Seoul chapter, then led by Seoul Chapter Chairperson Bae Hyun-jin. He stressed that even after being excluded from the nomination, he neither left the party nor ran as an independent candidate.

He went on to serve as the head of the Songpa-gu campaign headquarters for Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's candidacy, taking part in the election campaign. According to Kim, he also declared his support for Seo Kang-seok, the People Power Party's candidate for Songpa-gu district mayor, and joined his campaign, working to help elect party candidates.

"Even after I was dropped from the nomination, I did not leave the party or run as an independent — instead, I fought on the front lines to help elect the party's candidates," Kim said. "Politics should not be lenient toward the powerful and harsh toward the weak."

Kim also raised questions about the consistency of the disciplinary standards, citing past remarks by chairperson Bae and Rep. Park Jung-hoon. Bae had previously criticized her own one-year suspension of party membership rights as a "purge" and filed an injunction with the court to suspend its effect. Park had at the time called the same disciplinary action "retaliation."

"They called the discipline against themselves a purge and retaliation — how, then, do they explain a two-year suspension imposed on a young politician?" Kim said. He added that the circumstances surrounding the local elections should be examined by the same standard, stressing that disciplinary criteria should not shift depending on one's political standing.

Kim plans to immediately file an appeal with the People Power Party's central ethics committee, rejecting the disciplinary decision made by the Seoul chapter's ethics committee.


7toy7@heraldcorp.com