SEOUL– The ruling People Power Party (PPP) submitted a motion Friday calling for disciplinary action against an opposition lawmaker for riding in an ambulance on the day of the Itaewon crowd surge and allegedly causing other emergency doctors to arrive late.
Rep. Shin Hyun-young of the Democratic Party (DP) has been under fire following revelations that she had one of the Disaster Medical Assistance Team ambulances pick her up from her home on its way to the accident site for rescue operations on Oct. 29.
Her husband accompanied her on the ambulance and she left the site after just 15 minutes.
Shin, who is serving her first term at the National Assembly, is a doctor-turned-lawmaker.
“We have submitted a penalty motion on charges of power abuse and violating the duty of maintaining dignity as stipulated in the National Assembly Act,” said Rep. Kang Gi-yun, who leads the PPP in the parliamentary health committee. Nineteen other ruling party lawmakers sponsored the motion.
Kang called for an investigation of Shin and her husband as part of a parliamentary probe into the tragedy.
Shin has resigned as a member of the special committee in charge of the parliamentary probe.
Source: Yonhap News Agency