
Rep. Kim Sang-wook of the ruling People Power Party is facing ostracization and criticism by fellow party members for supporting opposition-led moves to suspend and investigate President Yoon Suk Yeol.
During a general assembly of ruling party lawmakers on Monday, Rep. Kim spoke in favor of a special counsel-led probe of the now-suspended leader’s Dec. 3 martial law. ”We should propose our own special prosecutor bill even now. The party should not be perceived as endorsing martial law,” he said.
Local media, citing multiple sources, reported that the closed-door meeting turned hostile toward Kim, with senior members singling him out and attacking him with harsh words.
Rep. Lee Chul-gyu was quoted as saying, “Don’t portray other lawmakers as supporting martial law. No one here supports martial law.”
According to reports, Party spokesperson Rep. Kim Dae-sik said that "a party member should adhere to the party’s official stance. … The young lawmaker has learned politics wrong.”
He further stated, “Are we Hitler, and is Kim Sang-wook the Jew?” in an apparent jab at Kim Sang-wook, who had used the reference to Hitler to criticize the danger of pressuring individuals to conform to a single idea, likening it to Nazi Germany.
After the heated exchange, Kim Sang-wook left the meeting, joined by Reps. Jung Sung-kook, Koh Dong-jin, and Han Ji-ah, who also exited in protest.
Kim Sang-wook is among the 18 People Power Party lawmakers who voted to strike down President Yoon’s martial law declaration on Dec. 3.
In the first parliamentary vote to impeach Yoon, Rep. Kim was among the three People Power Party lawmakers who defied the conservative party’s official stance to boycott the vote by voting against it. The motion failed to pass.
In the second vote on Yoon’s impeachment which passed, the 45-year-old, first-term lawmaker was among the 12 from the ruling party who voted in favor of impeachment.
In several parliamentary votes that followed, Rep. Kim voted in favor of the opposition-led motions to investigate Yoon and the first lady, defying the party’s official stance.
He has since been under growing pressure to leave the party.
"We can’t be in the same party if he cannot agree with the party’s decision,” said People Power Party Floor Leader Kweon Seong-dong.
The backlash extended to Ulsan, Kim’s constituency, where three ruling party lawmakers held a press conference urging his resignation. They accused him of 'threatening the true values and unity of conservatism.
Despite mounting pressure, Kim has refused to resign, asserting his right to act according to his conscience.
“Although those who share my views may be a minority, I believe it is important to remain and work toward steering the party in the right direction,” he told reporters at the National Assembly on Jan. 9.
Kim defended his dissenting votes, citing the Constitution, the National Assembly Act and the party charter, which allow lawmakers to vote based on conscience rather than party directives.
He also criticized Kweon’s suggestion that he leave the party. “In a liberal democratic party, the idea that the party must be unified is a totalitarian notion — something only an extreme right-wing party would advocate,” he said.
Some lawmakers supported Kim’s stance.
On Jan. 9, Rep. Cho Kyung-tae dismissed Kweon’s remarks during an SBS Radio interview. “It’s laughable even to a passing cow,” Cho said. He cited Article 60 of the party’s constitution, which states: “Members of the National Assembly are free to vote in accordance with the Constitution and their conscience.”
Cho also criticized President Yoon, saying, “The one who caused significant damage to the party with illegal and unconstitutional martial law is none other than President Yoon Suk Yeol. If accountability is to be sought, the president should either be expelled from the party or held responsible immediately.”