The National Assembly convened its disciplinary committee Wednesday and passed a motion to expel a sitting lawmaker -- formerly affiliated with the ruling party -- accused of sexual assault.
  

Rep. Sim Hag-bong, who left the ruling Saenuri Party last month, is being investigated by prosecutors on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman in her 40s at a hotel in Daegu on July 13.
  

The National Assembly's Ethics Committee took the disciplinary action against the embattled lawmaker and will hold a general meeting later in the day to finalize the motion.
  

The motion, if passed in the general meeting, will again be sent to the National Assembly's general meeting slated next month for approval.
  

The likelihood of the expulsion motion being passed by the National Assembly is not certain, as it requires at least two-thirds approval.
  

The committee's meeting comes after a group of 25 female lawmakers from the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy filed a motion, calling for Sim to be punished.
  

Sim left the ruling party on Aug. 3, noting that he did not want to place any burden on it.
  

The Saenuri Party accepted Sim's letter of defection. His defection lowered the number of seats held by the ruling party in the 298-member parliament to 159. (Yonhap)