South Korea’s ruling party suspended the membership rights of Tae Yong-ho, a former North Korean diplomat turned ROK congressman, for three months on Wednesday over a series of controversies.

But the relatively short punishment keeps alive the high-profile defector’s political career, expiring well in advance of the next parliamentary election in April 2024.

“I will humbly accept the ethics committee’s decision today,” Tae stated after the committee met Wednesday evening. “I once again sincerely apologize to the people, party leadership, comrades in the party and the Yoon Suk-yeol administration for causing trouble with controversies surrounding me.”

The decision to punish