Will the National Assembly End the Filibuster Today? Ruling Party Pushes for Vote, People Power Party Protests

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy, reporter Kim Hyemin] On the afternoon of December 13, the National Assembly will hold a plenary session to vote on whether to end the filibuster (unlimited debate) on the amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act. This follows the request made the previous day by the Democratic Party of Korea and other ruling bloc parties to conclude the debate. The People Power Party is strongly opposing the move, claiming that the ruling party has changed its stance after just three days, making further conflict inevitable.

According to the National Assembly Act, the vote will take place after 8:09 p.m. on this day, once 24 hours have passed since the motion to end the filibuster was submitted. If three-fifths (180 members) or more of the total members vote in favor, the debate will be halted and the first item to be voted on will be the amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act, which was under filibuster.

The Democratic Party states that it has already secured 173 votes, even excluding Representative Jeong Jeongsoon, who is currently detained. Including four independent lawmakers formerly affiliated with the Democratic Party, such as Kim Honggul and Yoon Mihyang, as well as three members from the Open Democratic Party and one from the Basic Income Party, the party believes it has no issue in reaching the required 180 seats. However, internal dissenting votes, such as Representative Cho Eungcheon who refused to vote on the amendment to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials Act, remain a variable.

The Justice Party, which holds six seats, has stated its opposition to forcibly ending the filibuster. However, since the party also believes that standing committees must continue to operate, attention is focused on whether its position will change further.

The People Power Party, which initiated the filibuster and is continuing the debate, is fiercely protesting. At a general assembly the previous day, People Power Party floor leader Joo Hoeyoung criticized, "While struggling to contain the indiscriminate spread of COVID-19, they are once again using it as an excuse to silence the people and even halt the filibuster."

The People Power Party maintains that if the filibuster on the National Intelligence Service Act amendment is forcibly ended, it will immediately launch a filibuster on the next agenda item, the Anti-Leaflet Act. Even if the Democratic Party promptly submits a motion to end the debate, another 24 hours of discussion is expected to follow. The People Power Party is likely to continue its campaign to rally public opinion by highlighting the issue of the Democratic Party's legislative dominance until the end.

Meanwhile, for four days since December 10, both parties have been engaged in a filibuster over the amendment to the National Intelligence Service Act. Although the Democratic Party initially stated it would not end the filibuster in order to guarantee the right to counterargument, the situation became more serious as COVID-19 cases increased and Democratic Party lawmakers such as Kim Byungki came into contact with confirmed cases, leading to a suspension of the filibuster. As a result, the party reversed its position and decided to conclude the filibuster after three days.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.