Party adopts resolution as official stance, citing 'defense of constitutional destruction'; PPP urged to discipline its own member
Han Byung-do says party has 'lost ability to self-correct'
Chun Doo-hwan convicted of insurrection by Supreme Court in 1997
The Democratic Party of Korea has adopted as its official party position a resolution calling for the expulsion of People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-gyu, who said the actions of Chun Doo-hwan's military junta and former President Yoon Suk Yeol did not constitute insurrection, and submitted a formal disciplinary motion to the National Assembly.
Democratic Party floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee told reporters after a general assembly meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday that the party had voted to pursue the expulsion resolution against Kim as an official party measure.
Floor leader Cheon Jun-ho and other Democratic Party floor leadership submitted both a "resolution calling for the expulsion of Assembly member Kim Tae-gyu" and a "disciplinary motion against Assembly member Kim Tae-gyu" to the National Assembly's bill submission office immediately after the general assembly meeting.
Cheon said it was "shocking that someone who defends Yoon Suk Yeol and Chun Doo-hwan — men who pointed guns at the people — by saying their actions were not insurrection, and who defends the destruction of constitutional order, sits in the National Assembly." He urged the People Power Party to initiate its own disciplinary and expulsion proceedings against Kim before any National Assembly-level process begins.
Kim had appeared Wednesday on JTBC's YouTube channel "Jangneuman Yeouido" and, when asked whether Chun Doo-hwan's military junta's seizure of power constituted insurrection, replied, "It is not insurrection." When the host pressed him, noting that the matter had been settled by a court ruling, Kim said, "I don't think so," and argued that Chun's legacy required further historical assessment and debate. Kim also stated that he did not consider Yoon's actions to amount to insurrection.
Han Byung-do, the Democratic Party's floor leader, said at the general assembly meeting that PPP lawmakers had made such remarks repeatedly, asking why they continued to "so easily utter outrageous statements and deny history." He attributed the pattern to the atmosphere within the PPP itself and said the party had "lost its ability to self-correct as a legitimate political party." Han had also addressed Kim's remarks earlier Thursday at a policy coordination meeting, calling them "a frontal denial of the Constitution and a challenge to history and the people."
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