People Power Party supreme council member Yang Hyang-ja said Friday that "the sharper the blade of discipline, the more fair and careful the hand holding that blade must be."
Yang made the remark during an appearance on KBS Radio, explaining why she had abstained from a vote at Thursday's PPP supreme council meeting on the appointment of two members to the party's Central Ethics Committee. She said the nominees' independence, impartiality and expertise needed to be fully examined before any vote was held.
"I was not given any explanation of who these individuals are, what their main careers and activities have been, or — most importantly — whether they have any political conflicts of interest or grounds for recusal," Yang said. "Proceeding straight to a vote without time to review any of that was something my conscience, as a member of the party's highest decision-making body, would not allow."
She also said the ethics committee should be a place where intraparty conflicts are resolved, not a source of new ones. "Right now, further conflict and allegations are emerging around the ethics committee itself," she said. "If the committee is suspected of being a political tool for a particular individual or faction, it will be hard for anyone to accept its decisions, no matter what they are."
Yang added that with seven members now appointed, continuing to delay the committee's work was putting the party in a very difficult position. "If I see problems going forward, I will of course raise them," she said.
On the party reform plan being prepared by the Jang Dong-hyeok leadership, Yang said she was looking forward to seeing the party's vision for how it would be run, what values it would pursue, and what direction it would take over the long term. "A leadership that can restore party discipline and run the party properly needs to get off to a fresh start and prepare seriously for the next election," she said.
She also called on the party to make a sober assessment of why it lost the local elections, put capable talent and sound policy front and center, and become a party that can win back young and moderate voters. "We should be fighting to protect people's livelihoods and democracy — not to look like we are fighting to extend the leadership's hold on power," she said.
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
