The ruling party and three minor opposition parties are seeking disciplinary action against three lawmakers of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party(LKP) for making disparaging remarks about the 1980 Gwangju Uprising.
The ruling Democratic Party and the minority Bareunmirae Party, Party for Democracy and Peace, and the Justice Party presented a motion on Tuesday to the National Assembly seeking punishment for LKP legislators Kim Jin-tae, Lee Jong-myeong and Kim Soon-rye.
The four parties said the three lawmakers had tarnished the honor and authority of the National Assembly and insulted the people who had devoted themselves to democracy with their comments.
On Monday, the four parties agreed to present the motion seeking disciplinary action against the three lawmakers and to pursue their expulsion via the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Ethics.
In order to present a case before the ethics committee, a motion requires the consent of more than 20 lawmakers. To expel a lawmaker, consent is required from two-thirds of parliament.
Last Friday, the LKP lawmakers claimed North Korean soldiers could have systematically incited the protesters in Gwangju while calling those recognized for their contribution to the May uprising a "monster group.”
During the violent crackdown, hundreds of people are estimated to have been killed while many were beaten or even raped as Gwangju citizens took up arms from state armories and police stations.