Ko Min-jung, "Kim Nam-guk's voluntary withdrawal from the party? A self-imposed political death sentence."

- Kim Nam-guk's voluntary withdrawal from the party, not a prior communication with Lee Jae-myung - If it had been coordinated in advance, would you have ordered an ethics inspection - The voluntary withdrawal party is not light, and he sentenced
himself to political death
- I can't prevent the defection,
but I keep a record... What
will be considered at the time of reinstatement - Innovation guns, money bags were also discussed, but focus on coins - Transactions during the Standing Committee, should
be clearly clarified and responded to
- The signature of the Democratic Party is "defection"? Should
I reflect and apologize - Coin full investigation? Should the Speaker of the National Assembly issue
an order - mention of re-confidence in the Speaker? Only 1 out of 50 speakers ■ Broadcast: SBS Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show (FM 103.5 MHz 7:00 ~ 9:00) ■ Date: May 15, 2023 (Mon) ■ Host: Lawyer Kim Jun-woo (Lawyer Kim Tae-hyun on vacation instead)


■ Appearance: Ko Min-jung, Supreme Committee Member
of the Democratic Party
of Korea ▷ Kim Jun-woo : It's an inner view time to listen to deep stories in the news.

Regarding the defection of Congressman Kim Nam-guk, the MDP held a renewal meeting yesterday. It also adopted a resolution summarizing its five arguments. We will share the details with the top committee member of the Democratic Party. Good afternoon, Congressman.

▶Ko Min-jung: Good to see you.

Kim Jun-woo : Thank you for coming in the morning. Yesterday there was a six-hour long parliamentary session, and a resolution was adopted. There are a lot of questions that I have a lot of questions. For the time being, the voluntary defection of Rep. Kim Nam-guk has lost some steam, and then the party's fact-finding investigation has been exhausted. Or, for those who look at it more critically, there are reports that such an opinion has been expressed within the party, so there are various interpretations of whether or not he communicated with Chairman Lee Jae-myung in advance. How do you view Rep. Kim Nam-guk's defection from the party?

▶Ko Min-jung: I don't think it's a pre-communion. Because the circumstances are that we had a fact-finding team on Wednesday, and then on Friday morning, there was an exclusive report that we had made a deal at the executive committee or at the personnel hearing. Then, around noon that very day, I issued an order from the Ethics Inspector General.

Kim Jun-woo : This is CEO Lee Jae-myung.

▶So, if you're going to make such a pre-arrangement, wouldn't it be logical to proceed before then, without giving instructions to the Ethics Inspector General? So I don't think it's pre-coordinated.

Kim Jun-woo : Yes. Ko Min-jung: However, there were a lot of disagreements about whether the method of voluntary withdrawal is correct, and there were a lot of disagreements at the General Assembly yesterday.

▶ Most importantly, because there is so much data, it is impossible for the fact-finding team to analyze it in a short period of time.

Kim : Yes, I think so.

▶Ko Min-jung: Of course, if you take a long time, you can do it, but we are not an investigative agency. However, aside from that, as a member of the National Assembly, the ethical problem of excessive coin trading is something that we cannot just move on. Of course, neither stocks nor coins are illegal. Right now, not only in the Democratic Party, but also in the power of the people, there are a lot of people in Congress who are particularly stock-doing. Then will you regard them all as illegal? You don't. However, there may be a conflict of interest, so most of them should be a blank trust. That's why coins are also not illegal if you ask whether this is illegal or not. But as a person who holds the office of a member of Congress, as someone who has access to a lot of information, I don't think we can resist being reprimanded for having made so many dealings. Sometimes, when we have to, we feel like it's our duty to get hit.

Kim Jun-woo : We have to systematically prevent defection from the party, or we can't stop it. What would it be like if you just did it this way? Because a lot of people who have had a lot of controversies have been in the Democratic Party for the past few years, it's hard to be free from the critical gaze that this is a disguised defection party in these areas. So how do you look at this issue?

▶Ko Min-jung: In the end, it will be a question of reinstatement, but it is difficult to say definitively, but that is why we announced yesterday that we would continue the investigation as a result of the parliamentary elections. Therefore, there is no way to deal with the current withdrawal from the party according to the party constitution and party rules, and in fact, there is no way to prevent this from happening. However, if the investigation continues, whether it is a matter of facts or ethics, it is inevitable that there will be a result, and that will be recorded as a basis. And even if the reinstatement process or deliberation is done later by a leadership other than ours, it has to be taken into account. So, actually, a lot of people take it very lightly when I declare that I am voluntarily withdrawing from the party, but I don't think so. So, in a way, I feel like I've given myself a political death sentence. However, if the people say that it is not enough, it seems natural that we should humbly listen to it and come up with a new plan for it.

Kim Jun-woo : However, there is a disadvantage if you withdraw from the party during the disciplinary action, but this was done before the disciplinary action began, so in the end, it was done by yourself to open up the possibility of the general election next year.

▶Ko Min-jung: That's why it's unfortunate. Perhaps, when he announced that he was going to leave the party, he did not calculate that I would be able to get away with it. I mean, if you've been in the party for a long time, you might be able to do that, but I didn't think there would be such a clause. So I wish I had been a little more careful, but as I said before, if I had discussed it with someone, that is, with the person on duty, I wouldn't have made that decision. And I think a lot of members of Congress are concerned that this is just a way to take a break and then get a foothold to reopen, and I think the answer to that is that we're going to continue the investigation and get results.

Kim Jun-woo : OhApparently, since Rep. Kim Nam-guk wrote, "Today, I am leaving my beloved Democratic Party for a while," such an interpretation seems inevitable.

▶Ko Min-jung: Yes. Kim Jun-woo : Looking at the resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly, it says that a member of the Democratic Party who is suspected of being involved in virtual assets has left the party, starting by saying that he will not shirk the party's responsibility by defecting from the party.

Then why isn't the money bag mentioned here? The lawmaker involved in the money bag allegations also left the party, but in this regard, you may wonder if he left out the talk that he would conduct an ethics investigation and discipline if necessary.

▶Ko Min-jung: There was a little bit of that discussion, but not a lot. However, the hottest curiosity and current issue right now is this coin issue, so you can say that we focused more on that. However, we are not finishing everything with this meeting, so there is still a lot more to be added here, so please stay tuned for the ongoing agenda.

Kim Jun-woo : Then I don't think the fact-finding team would have made a report. I didn't receive all the data, this was said, is that true?

▶Ko Min-jung: It seems to be so. That's what the investigation team said, and I know the spokesperson announced that. Therefore, since our party has said that it will continue the investigation, I think that Congressman Kim Nam-guk should also be a little more sincere in the investigation.

Kim Jun-woo: The reason why I ask you that question is that on Friday, all the Congressmen Kim Han-kyu came out here and said that they would get all the data, so that they would clean it up, and if necessary, they would discipline them, and then they left, but suddenly they said that they didn't release the data, so there is more suspicion about this part as well. At a time when it is necessary to disclose the details of transactions transparently, even the party does not honestly disclose the data properly, which seems to increase public suspicion and distrust.

▶Ko Min-jung: That's why it's more important from now on. If the data is not submitted again from now on, there is nothing we can do about it because you have withdrawn from the party, but it will put an end to the suspicion that it is because you want to hide something more from the people. But because it was so short, we started the investigation on Friday, so we only had time on Saturday. He made an announcement on Sunday morning. So, while the fact-finding team was still receiving data and conducting investigations, it suddenly happened, so I don't think the data is 100% there. If you listen to the story a little bit, I know that the amount of material is not just about 100 or 200 pages. The coin system itself is like that.

Kim Jun-woo : According to current reports, there are reports that there have been 3,000 transactions in two years, so I guess he didn't devote himself properly to his duties. We initially thought that if we had done it once or twice, for example, we might have made a pre-sale, but if that's the case, and then from what was reported last Friday evening, it looks like it was really a deal that was made during a break in the middle of the executive committee, so I don't think it's going to be easy to avoid the disciplinary part ethically.

▶Ko Min-jung: That's why we immediately activated the Ethics Inspector General. In fact, there was a little bit of controversy about ethics inspections. Because in the process of conducting this fact-finding process, there was no illegality, so we were just saying that we should make an ethical judgment after seeing the results of the fact-finding a little more, but as the reports from the executive committee and the middle of the investigation that you mentioned were reported, we also learned new facts. This is no longer postponed by delaying, and we have ordered an inspection to be activated immediately.

Kim Jun-woo : Then I wonder if the defected Congressman Kim Nam-guk will actively cooperate.

▶Ko Min-jung: I think it's in your hands. Because he has claimed that he is innocent, and because he has basic beliefs about politics, I would like to ask you to think about how to make it clear to the people rather than reacting emotionally, because the people are looking at it much more closely.

Kim Jun-woo : One of our listeners, Lee Yong-woo, said, "Nowadays, the Democratic Party is responsible for defection, but what do you think of the Democratic Party's behavior in which defection is caricatured in this way? It feels like a signature of the Democratic Party." How do you take this?

▶Ko Min-jung: This is something that I take very painfully. How should we reflect and apologize for that? If I have to apologize a hundred times and a thousand times, I think I should.

Kim Jun-woo : What is your position on the investigation?

▶Ko Min-jung: I've been speaking publicly for a long time. I think we need to do a full investigation. At this point, the Chairman gave an order because if you do it within the Democratic Party, what else are you hiding, because we don't have experts, we are bound to be suspicious, so I hope that all 300 members of Congress, whether it's the power of the people, us, or Congressman Cho Cho-hoon, who came out earlier, will be investigated and the secretariat will sort it out. So since you say that the coin itself is not illegal, then when it was done in a certain amount, and at what time, can it be said that it is ethically immoral? If it is difficult to distinguish between them during the discussion process. Then, you may conclude that you should not trade coins, but there is a concern of partiality in leaving it to one political party, so I think the Speaker should issue a directive and resolve this at the level of the National Assembly.

Kim Jun-woo : The last time you were dealing with real estate, you asked the ACRC to do it, but do you think you can fully accept such a method?

▶Ko Min-jung: I think I have to accept it in any way. At that time, only we Democrats were doing it. The People's Power, the other parties, the Justice Party, of course. Let's all work together and make sure that the coin issue is not used as a way for lawmakers to hide their wealth.Therefore, I think we need to clarify to the people again the meaning of property declaration.

Kim Jun-woo : Since you mentioned the Chairman of the National Assembly, this is a question that I have. If there is a limit to ethics investigations and disciplinary actions within the party, but if you show an attitude of responsibility to the end, can you fully consider the way in which the MDP comes forward and files a complaint with the ethics committee, and then leaves it to the official procedures of the National Assembly beyond the party?

▶Ko Min-jung: There was a lot of talk about that at the meeting yesterday. But let me tell you that I haven't come to a conclusion yet. That's why fact-finding usually ends at the same time as the withdrawal from the party, but it's common sense. In the opinion that this does not resolve the suspicion, our leadership also made it public and it was decided that the investigation would continue. I'd like you to keep an eye on the process a little longer.

Kim Jun-woo : If I come out a little further and find something that is problematic with the ethics committee, I will file a complaint with the ethics committee.

▶Ko Min-jung: I think we should be open to all possibilities.

Kim Jun-woo: So, although we have not yet reached a conclusion at the party level, can we summarize it to the extent that Supreme Commissioner Ko Min-jung has no reason to reluctant?

▶Ko Min-jung: It's right that we should be open to all possibilities.

Kim Jun-woo : Okay. And there were some reports of that. Lawmakers close to Rep. Jang Kyung-tae, Rep. Choi Kang-wook, and Rep. Kim Nam-guk were aware of Rep. Kim Nam-guk's coin investment behavior. I don't know if they knew the scale of it, but I think they knew that the lawmakers saw that Congressman Kim Nam-guk was making coin investments, and to some extent, they saw economic achievements and profits through it. There's a certain kind of looseness on the inside, morally firm on the other side but loose on the inside.

▶Ko Min-jung: It wasn't necessarily because he was an internal legislator, but if you go back to that time, former Chairman Lee Jun-seok also openly said that he had earned enough money to hold three elections with coins, and it seems that there was no media or public opinion about it. In other words, there were situations at the time when the coin transaction itself was not considered illegal. So I think we should think about what the legislators are saying at that level. I don't know if there's a little bit more room for illegality in this, or if it's gone too far, because I haven't checked whether the two members of Congress have done it.

Kim Jun-woo : Okay. And since the focus was on Rep. Kim Nam-guk, what kind of stories related to money bags came out at the congressional meeting?

▶Ko Min-jung: Actually, it didn't come out much. That's why it was a little difficult to bet on the outcome. It was almost 10 to 1, and a few people barely talked to each other. That's just the way it is. There have been a few people who have said that both the coin issue and the money bag allegations are something that our Democratic Party should reflect on. So, as I said earlier, this is not the end of the agenda, so of course the money bag allegations and the coin issue are both at fault for the Democratic Party, and it is natural that they should apologize and clear up their suspicions.

Kim : It's almost the last time. According to media reports, Chairman Lee Jae-myung should be asked for re-confidence at the parliamentary assembly, and there was talk of this, but what kind of stories did this actually come out?

▶Ko Min-jung: I haven't counted about 50 people, but a lot of lawmakers have expressed their opinions. I remember there was one person who said that. I just don't write down the specifics of the remarks, and it's a little hard to talk about them.

Kim Jun-woo : Apparently, there have been a lot of talk about the leadership's recent late, slow response to the money bag and coin issue, and a backward response to North Korea, so it seems that there are question marks and question marks about the leadership of President Lee Jae-myung's leadership, as well as the national public.

▶Ko Min-jung: That's right. We're going to have a summit this morning, and I think what you just said is the most important. Therefore, I think that the Democratic Party should actively work on the coin issue and the money bag issue, not hide it.

Kim Jun-woo : Okay. I'll listen to you here. He was a member of Congress. I appreciate it.

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