SEOUL, July 27 (Yonhap) -- The supreme council of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Monday decided to ask a party member to voluntarily leave the party over his misconduct against the party whip during a heated protest over the assignment of parliamentary committee chairs last week.

The supreme council reached a consensus to request Rep. Kwon Young-jin to voluntarily leave the party and seek strong disciplinary action against him, including expulsion, if he refuses, according to a party official.

"The party leadership agreed unanimously that this is a serious issue that calls for stern punishment," PPP chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon told reporters after a closed-door meeting of the party's supreme council.

"The prevailing view was that the ethics committee should convene a meeting promptly and the strongest possible disciplinary action, including expulsion, should be taken if Kwon rejects our proposal," he added.

Rep. Kwon was one of several lawmakers who visited the office of PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig on Thursday, taking issue with the party's pick of committee chairs.

He reportedly shouted at Rep. Jeong and grabbed the floor leader by the collar while he was protesting.

Rep. Jeong said he would put the incident behind him and focus on carrying out his duties as the floor leader.

"I will put all past grievances behind me and fulfill my responsibilities as the floor leader for the livelihoods of the people and the normalization of the country," he told reporters earlier in the day.

The protest came after the National Assembly elected the chairs of six standing committees allocated to the PPP following a weekslong bipartisan deadlock over the formation of the Assembly's committees.

julesyi@yna.co.kr

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