The ethics committee of the ruling People Power Party(PPP) has slapped an additional 12 months to the party membership suspension for former chair Lee Jun-seok. 

The committee decided on the heavy penalty in a plenary session at the National Assembly after deliberating the case for about five hours from 7 p.m. Thursday, adding 12 months to his earlier six-month suspension over allegations of attempting to cover up sexual bribery.

The committee pointed to Lee’s court injunction seeking to prevent the party from holding a national committee meeting early last month to launch a new emergency steering committee, as part of the reasons for the latest penalty.

The panel said that Lee attempted to hamper party leadership even after the court declared that there was no procedural reason the party could not convene the meeting in its ruling on Lee’s first injunction, which resulted in the suspension of the previous emergency leadership chair Joo Ho-young.

The ethics panel also said Lee's strong-worded remarks insulting the party members and President Yoon Suk Yeol violated the party's ethics rules. He is now suspended until January 2024.

Meanwhile, the ethics committee issued a disciplinary warning against former floor leader Rep. Kweon Seong-dong for holding a drinking party at the PPP's workshop in August despite the party's abstinence order.