Constitutional Amendment Vote Fails Due to Lack of Quorum... Woo Won-shik: "I Will Reconvene the Plenary Session on the 8th" (Update)

Only 178 Lawmakers Participate in Vote, Falling Short of 191 Quorum
Speaker Woo: "If Another 12.3 Occurs, We Will Be Remembered as Wrongdoers in History"
Kwak Gyutaek: "High Likelihood of Absence Again Tomorrow"

The door to constitutional amendment, which has been closed for 39 years, is now at risk of shutting once again. Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, plans to revive the momentum for constitutional revision by convening another plenary session on May 8.

On May 7, the National Assembly held a plenary session to vote on the constitutional amendment bill. However, the vote could not proceed due to the absence of lawmakers from the People Power Party.

Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, speaks after submitting the amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea at the first plenary session of the May extraordinary session of the National Assembly held on the 7th. Photo by Yonhap News

Speaker Woo stated, "The number of lawmakers who participated in the vote did not reach two-thirds of the total members required for a quorum," and declared, "I announce that the vote on this agenda item has not been established." Only 178 lawmakers participated in the vote, falling short of the quorum of 191. Speaker Woo expressed his deep regret, saying, "It has been 39 years since the last constitutional amendment, and I am truly sorry to the people that the vote failed at the National Assembly stage before it could proceed to a national referendum." He added, "The purpose was to amend the Constitution so that such suffering and chaos, like those experienced under martial law, would never happen again, yet the vote did not take place."

Speaker Woo further stated, "If we fail to establish safeguards in the Constitution and an incident similar to the 12·3 Martial Law occurs again, all members of the 22nd National Assembly will be judged harshly by history."

He announced, "I will reconvene the plenary session at 2 p.m. on May 8," and urged, "I hope lawmakers from the People Power Party will consider participating in this vote."

Earlier, Speaker Woo had encouraged lawmakers from the People Power Party to participate in the vote, emphasizing that "this vote is a procedure to ask the people their opinion on the constitutional amendment." He criticized, "Denying the people an opportunity to directly vote on the amendment goes beyond the authority entrusted to us by the people." He stressed, "Opposing the amendment and not participating in the vote are two different matters," and added, "As representatives of the people, lawmakers should be given the authority to make decisions and vote responsibly."

The People Power Party is highly likely to continue its response of opposing the bill as a party line and refusing to participate in the vote at the plenary session on May 8. When asked by reporters whether the party would boycott the session even if it is held tomorrow, Kwon Kyutaek, chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, replied, "That is highly likely." When asked if any lawmakers insisted on attending the plenary session during the party's general meeting, spokesperson Kwon said, "There were none at all."

After the constitutional amendment vote failed and the agenda shifted to the handling of other bills, lawmakers from the People Power Party entered the plenary chamber.

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