'Jang must take responsibility'

'Unity needed to win'

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon speaks to reporters at the National Assembly's press briefing room Wednesday, addressing a sitting People Power Party ethics committee member's allegation that his expulsion from the party was manipulated. [Yonhap]
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon speaks to reporters at the National Assembly's press briefing room Wednesday, addressing a sitting People Power Party ethics committee member's allegation that his expulsion from the party was manipulated. [Yonhap]

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon on Wednesday called for a full investigation into allegations that the People Power Party's ethics committee manipulated his expulsion and the disciplinary action taken against lawmaker Jin Jong-oh, pointing to PPP Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok as the one who must answer for it. Han stressed that the allegations had come from a sitting ethics committee member — not an outside observer — and demanded that Jang tell the truth and apologize.

Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly, Han said the situation had exposed "the reality that Han Dong-hoon's expulsion was a purge carried out for a specific individual's political gain." He added, "Jang, who knows better than anyone what really happened, should come clean right now and beg forgiveness before party members and the public."

Han said the disciplinary process against him had not been characterized as manipulated by a third-party observer, but by someone directly involved in making the decision. "It is the same situation as if Prosecutor Park Sang-yong suddenly came out and said he received orders from Han Dong-hoon and manipulated the indictment of Lee Jae Myung," he added.

Han doubled down on Jang's responsibility. "This is a problem that Jang must take responsibility for — and that responsibility will encompass everything," he said. "He must be held accountable for using the ethics committee to intimidate people, producing tailor-made outcomes, and in doing so, destroying the party and the conservative cause."

On the question of his own return to the party, Han framed it as a matter of conservative unity. "Unity is needed to win. Many people know that Han Dong-hoon's return would be a decisive blow against the Democratic Party," he said. "Is it not the case that a handful of politicians are forcibly blocking this to serve their own private interests?"

Earlier, Jang had informed the existing ethics committee members of his intention to replace them. In response, five of the six committee members, including Chairman Yun Min-woo, indicated their intention to resign.

Ethics committee member Hwang Gyeong-seong, the one member who did not signal resignation, issued a press release Wednesday alleging that Jang's plan to reorganize the committee was intended to cover up the disciplinary manipulation. "Moving now to replace the ethics committee — after successfully using disciplinary action to consolidate the party leadership — is nothing but a betrayal of those who served their purpose, driven by fear that the full picture of the manipulated disciplinary actions will come to light," Hwang said.

Hwang said he had only recently learned the full extent of what he described as manipulated disciplinary proceedings, spanning from Han's expulsion in January through Jin Jong-oh's disciplinary action in August, and said he had secured supporting evidence. "I will expose the truth behind these tainted, manipulated disciplinary actions, correct the wrongful dispositions, and ensure there are no more aggrieved victims," he said.

Meanwhile, Jang told reporters at the National Assembly on Wednesday that he had been briefed that there were "no problems and no disagreements" in the disciplinary process. "If someone wants to make such claims, they can pursue legal action. If a court finds procedural problems, the ethics committee can be convened again to guarantee the right of defense and proceed with the disciplinary process," he said.


mp1256@heraldcorp.com