Kweon Seong-dong's actions raise questions about party discipline
Published: 10 Jan. 2025, 00:00
People Power Party (PPP) floor leader Kweon Seong-dong has come under fire for pressuring lawmaker Kim Sang-wook to leave the party after Kim defied the party line in a recent National Assembly vote. The controversy centers around the National Assembly’s revote on two contentious bills: the special act on the first lady, Kim Keon-hee, and the Insurrection Investigation Bill. The PPP leadership had decided to oppose both bills as a party stance, but Kim voted in favor of both.
According to a leaked transcript, Kweon confronted Kim immediately after the vote, saying, “This isn’t a joke. It’s only right that you leave the party. You’re not helping the party at all,” and, “This is no laughing matter. It’s not the first time. No matter how independent you are as a constitutional body, if you’re part of the party, you must follow its decisions.”
Rep. Kim Sang-hoon, the PPP's policy chief, defended Kweon in an interview Thursday, stating, “Kim has consistently gone against the party line, and this is not a one-time issue.”
However, forcing Kim to resign from the party is highly inappropriate. While party discipline is critical in a parliamentary democracy, lawmakers are independent constitutional representatives who must vote according to their conscience and judgment. If a lawmaker believes a party directive is fundamentally flawed, they have the right to act on their convictions. Diversity of opinion strengthens political parties, and punishing dissent by expelling members only shrinks the party’s base, turning it into a self-destructive act.
Kweon’s actions evoke memories of the Democratic Party’s (DP) handling of former lawmaker Keum Tae-seop. In 2019, Keum abstained from a vote on the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office, defying the party line. In response, party hard-liners filed a disciplinary petition against him, leading to a formal warning from the DP’s ethics committee in 2020. At the time, lawmakers from the PPP’s predecessor, the United Future Party, sharply criticized the move. PPP lawmakers called it “a violation of the National Assembly Act, which guarantees lawmakers’ right to vote freely” (Rep. Yoon Young-seok), “a denial of democracy” (Rep. Ha Tae-keung), and evidence that “there is no democracy in the DP” (former Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong). For the PPP now to pressure Kim Sang-wook to leave the party smacks of hypocrisy and is indefensible.
The PPP leadership claims that Kim’s refusal to attend party meetings has hindered communication. However, the leadership must reflect on how seriously they addressed the special counsel issue themselves. Had the party proactively proposed an alternative special counsel bill that removed contentious provisions, would lawmakers like Kim have felt compelled to break ranks?
Moreover, the leadership’s selective targeting of a first-term lawmaker like Kim appears petty. Notably, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a prominent PPP figure and potential presidential candidate, openly declared his support for the insurrection special counsel bill. Will the PPP also expel Ahn?
Lawmakers like Kim who voted for the special counsel bills serve as tenuous but crucial links between the PPP and moderate voters. If the party pushes them out, it risks accelerating its transformation into a regional party with narrow appeal, akin to the erstwhile Liberty Unification Party of Korea’s, Yeongnam region (North and South Gyeongsang Provinces and Daegu).
Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
According to a leaked transcript, Kweon confronted Kim immediately after the vote, saying, “This isn’t a joke. It’s only right that you leave the party. You’re not helping the party at all,” and, “This is no laughing matter. It’s not the first time. No matter how independent you are as a constitutional body, if you’re part of the party, you must follow its decisions.”
Rep. Kim Sang-hoon, the PPP's policy chief, defended Kweon in an interview Thursday, stating, “Kim has consistently gone against the party line, and this is not a one-time issue.”
However, forcing Kim to resign from the party is highly inappropriate. While party discipline is critical in a parliamentary democracy, lawmakers are independent constitutional representatives who must vote according to their conscience and judgment. If a lawmaker believes a party directive is fundamentally flawed, they have the right to act on their convictions. Diversity of opinion strengthens political parties, and punishing dissent by expelling members only shrinks the party’s base, turning it into a self-destructive act.
Kweon’s actions evoke memories of the Democratic Party’s (DP) handling of former lawmaker Keum Tae-seop. In 2019, Keum abstained from a vote on the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office, defying the party line. In response, party hard-liners filed a disciplinary petition against him, leading to a formal warning from the DP’s ethics committee in 2020. At the time, lawmakers from the PPP’s predecessor, the United Future Party, sharply criticized the move. PPP lawmakers called it “a violation of the National Assembly Act, which guarantees lawmakers’ right to vote freely” (Rep. Yoon Young-seok), “a denial of democracy” (Rep. Ha Tae-keung), and evidence that “there is no democracy in the DP” (former Jeju Gov. Won Hee-ryong). For the PPP now to pressure Kim Sang-wook to leave the party smacks of hypocrisy and is indefensible.
The PPP leadership claims that Kim’s refusal to attend party meetings has hindered communication. However, the leadership must reflect on how seriously they addressed the special counsel issue themselves. Had the party proactively proposed an alternative special counsel bill that removed contentious provisions, would lawmakers like Kim have felt compelled to break ranks?
Moreover, the leadership’s selective targeting of a first-term lawmaker like Kim appears petty. Notably, Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a prominent PPP figure and potential presidential candidate, openly declared his support for the insurrection special counsel bill. Will the PPP also expel Ahn?
Lawmakers like Kim who voted for the special counsel bills serve as tenuous but crucial links between the PPP and moderate voters. If the party pushes them out, it risks accelerating its transformation into a regional party with narrow appeal, akin to the erstwhile Liberty Unification Party of Korea’s, Yeongnam region (North and South Gyeongsang Provinces and Daegu).
Translated using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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