The ethics committee of the ruling People Power Party(PPP) has begun the process to dole out possible additional punishment for former PPP chair Lee Jun-seok.
Following a three-hour meeting of the party’s ethics committee on Sunday, committee chairperson Lee Yang-hee announced in a briefing that it had begun the process on the grounds that the former leader made insulting and accusatory remarks without basis against party members, representatives and apparatuses.
She also said Lee harmed the party by defaming it and is impeding internal unity with the allegations of illegalities directed at him.
In July, the ethics committee suspended Lee from party affairs for six months over allegations of covering up sexual bribery. Lee is likely to face a heavier penalty this time, with some even expecting him to be expelled from the party.
Lee, meanwhile, took to social media later in the day to criticize the latest launch of disciplinary proceedings against him, citing Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights that reads that everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression.