Seoul:Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, formerly a leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), has called on the party to reverse his expulsion, citing alleged irregularities in the disciplinary process. This appeal comes after a member of the PPP's ethics committee claimed that disciplinary actions against him and another lawmaker were manipulated.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Hwang Kyung-sung, a member of the ethics committee, accused the party's leader, Jang Dong-hyeok, of attempting to replace committee members to conceal the alleged manipulation. This allegation arose after Rep. Jang announced his plan to replace members of the committee, leading five of the six members, including the chair, to express intentions to resign.
Han, speaking at a press conference at the National Assembly, demanded the nullification of the disciplinary measures and urged Jang to issue a public apology. Han was expelled from the PPP in January due to allegations that his family posted defamatory comments about former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife on a party bulletin board.
Rep. Jin Jong-oh, who faced a two-year suspension from party membership partly for supporting Han in a parliamentary by-election despite the PPP fielding its own candidate in the district, also held a press conference calling for Jang's resignation.
Jang has denied the allegations, asserting that there were no irregularities in the disciplinary process and criticizing PPP lawmakers for actions he deemed as undermining the party.