DP decides to expel sitting lawmaker over sexual abuse allegations against former aide

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SEOUL, July 12. (Yonhap) – The ruling Democratic Party (DP) tentatively decided on Monday to expel one of its sitting MPs from the party for allegations of sexual abuse brought against his former collaborator.

The DP’s ethics committee ruled against Representative Yang Hyang-ja in a closed-door meeting earlier today. The decision, however, will be finalized if more than half of the party’s sitting lawmakers agree.

An employee of Yang’s regional office in the southern city of Gwangju last month accused one of the Gwangju-based lawmaker’s assistants of sexually harassing her for months after the lawmaker was elected last year. The accused assistant is also known as Yang’s relative and was subsequently dismissed from his post.

“The fact that Yang appears to have inflicted secondary damage (on the victim) by denying the occurrence of sexual abuse in his media interview (…) has been taken into consideration,” the party committee said.

The committee added that it had taken into account the seriousness of the alleged abuses, as evidenced by the arrest warrant sought against the former aide, as well as his attempt to cover up the case when making the decision.

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