The Democratic Party of Korea expelled Representatives Son Sol and Choi Hyuk-jin, who succeeded the proportional representation positions after the resignation of National Security Office Chief Wi Sung-lak and Presidential Office Spokesperson Kang Yoo-jeong on the 13th.
The Democratic Party held a closed-door general meeting in the National Assembly that day and unanimously passed the expulsion motion against the two representatives. It has been reported that all 128 attending members voted in favor.
Democratic Party floor spokesperson Noh Jong-myeon said, “We decided to expel them in accordance with the spirit of solidarity that had been established for the proportional representation rankings,” and added, “Where these individuals go is a matter of their political judgment.”
This expulsion measure is interpreted as a decision considering the spirit of solidarity of the pseudo-proportional representation party 'Democratic Union,' established by the opposition during the previous 22nd general election.
At that time, Representatives Son Sol and Choi Hyuk-jin had received their proportional representation rankings based on nominations from The Progressive Party and New Progressive Alliance, respectively, but they failed to win election. After Wi Sung-lak and Kang Yoo-jeong resigned from the National Assembly upon entering the Presidential Office, they succeeded to the parliamentary positions according to the rankings.
Representative Son formalized his return to The Progressive Party with this expulsion. As a result, the number of seats held by The Progressive Party increases to four. Representative Choi plans to remain independent and seek re-entry into the Democratic Party.