The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) decided Monday to file a complaint with the parliamentary ethics committee against the leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) for branding the DP as "high on drugs."
On Saturday, PPP leader Kim Gi-hyeon told reporters the DP is bent on pursuing immediate partisan gains while "high on drugs," after the party unilaterally designated a special bill calling for the truth behind last year's deadly Itaewon crowd crush as "fast-track" legislation.
Kim accused the DP of using the national tragedy for political gains.
On Monday, Rep. Kwon Chil-seung, the senior DP spokesperson, strongly denounced Kim's remarks and said the party will file a complaint with the ethics committee.
"I am dumbfounded by such ridiculous remarks from the ruling party that our party 'must have fallen terminally ill,' or is 'high on drugs.' Politics may be cold-blooded, but there is a line that should not be crossed," DP leader Lee Jae-myung said at a party meeting.
Meanwhile, the DP also claimed Kim gave a false explanation regarding his son's investment of virtual assets and plans to bring this issue to the ethics committee as well.
The DP has accused Kim's son of being involved in a cryptocurrency scam, after news reports said he was an executive of a company facing allegations of a "rug pull scam," where a crypto developer attracts investors' money and later closes the project suddenly or disappears and takes the investment with it.
Main opposition Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung (L) and floor leader Park Kwang-on attend the party's supreme council meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on July 3, 2023. (Yonhap)
Source: Yonhap News Agency