Boo Seung-chan, a lawmaker with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, will be removed from the National Assembly's Steering Committee over remarks describing the fire service as a drain on public finances.
The party leadership decided on the 21st to drop Boo from the committee, according to political sources. Boo had first offered to leave the committee as a gesture of contrition.
"Rep. Boo expressed that intention first, and I understand the party decided to proceed accordingly," a Democratic Party official said.
At a closed-door supreme council meeting the same day, the party issued formal warnings to Boo and Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae. Boo is seen as having made the decision voluntarily after internal calls within the party for lawmakers to take responsibility over the controversy.
Boo had earlier defended Choo's comment that the fire service "is like a straw draining finances," saying that although about 90% of the fire service personnel are now classified as national civil servants, local governments still cover most of the related personnel and support budget — "isn't that really sucking finances dry?" Critics said the substance of his point was reasonable but the language was excessive.