'Disciplinary politics' row reignites as PPP ethics panel member apologizes over Jang-Han feud

The so-called "disciplinary politics" controversy surrounding the People Power Party's Central Ethics Committee resurfaced Wednesday after a committee member publicly apologized for what he described as fabricated disciplinary proceedings. The apology to independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon prompted Han and his allies to demand the resignation of PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok.

Ethics committee member Hwang Gyeong-seong issued a statement Wednesday saying he had learned the full details of what he called fabricated disciplinary actions carried out by the committee — from Han's expulsion in January through the case of lawmaker Jin Jong-oh in August — and had secured supporting evidence. Hwang offered a public apology to Han, Jin and others subjected to the proceedings.

Hwang said Jang had abruptly demanded the resignation of all ethics committee members, adding that the PPP's party affairs audit office sent him a resignation letter Oct. 27 at the direction of party leadership and asked him to sign it.

Hwang leveled sharp criticism at Jang, saying the ethics committee had been "nominally an independent body but in practice Jang Dong-hyeok's personal possession."

Han raised his voice after Hwang came forward with the apology and allegations of fabricated proceedings, saying "the reality of a political purge has now been exposed."

Han wrote on his Facebook page Wednesday that "the very ethics committee member who expelled me has made a conscience declaration saying he fabricated my disciplinary case and has publicly apologized to me." Han added that Hwang — the sitting PPP ethics committee member directly involved in his January expulsion — had acknowledged the proceedings were fabricated and apologized to him as the victim.

Han went further, saying it was the sitting committee member who had personally decided on his expulsion who came forward under his real name to declare the proceedings fabricated. "The reality has been exposed that Han Dong-hoon's expulsion, carried out through the ethics committee, was a political purge for the political benefit of a specific individual," Han said.

In response, the PPP's party affairs audit office said it had checked whether current Central Ethics Committee members were willing to step down as part of a routine review of whether to reconstitute the committee, whose term is set to expire in early January — coinciding with the end of the party affairs audit committee's own term.

The pushback from Han's allies continued nonetheless. Jin Jong-oh, who had himself been disciplined in August, held a press conference Wednesday and told Jang directly: "You are the one who should be submitting a resignation letter."

Jin said the independence of the ethics committee that Jang had so loudly championed had been flatly denied by someone on the inside.

Jin pressed further, asking whether Jang had "put on every kind of political performance out front while hiding behind the curtain of the ethics committee," and whether Jang was willing "to make himself a clown to seize power, and to push even comrades to the blade of discipline to hold onto it."

Lawmakers aligned with Han amplified their criticism of Jang. PPP lawmaker Han Ji-a wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday: "Fabricated discipline, unjust expulsion, rigged election" — urging the party leadership that if it had the resolve to "fight all the way to the moon," it should first find the courage to correct what is abnormal.

Fellow PPP lawmaker Park Jeong-hun also posted on Facebook, saying it was being revealed one by one that "Jang Dong-hyeok, Shin Dong-wook and others conspired to unjustly discipline and expel lawmaker Han Dong-hoon."

Park said a full investigation into the matter had become unavoidable now that a sitting ethics committee member who had participated in the disciplinary proceedings admitted they were fabricated and apologized to Han. "Those who planned and colluded in something unprecedented in the history of political parties must leave the political world forever," Park said.