Constitutional Amendment Vote Fails Due to Lack of Quorum... Speaker Woo Won-sik to Call for Revote at Plenary Session on the 8th (Comprehensive)

Only 178 Lawmakers Participated in the Vote... Short of the 191 Required for Quorum

Speaker Woo: "If 12/3 Happens Again, We Will Be Judged by History"

Kwak Kyutaek: "Highly Likely to Abstain Again Tomorrow"

The door to constitutional amendment, which had been open for the first time in 39 years, is now on the verge of closing. Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, plans to rekindle the amendment initiative by convening another plenary session on May 8.

On May 7, the National Assembly held a plenary session to vote on the constitutional amendment proposal, but the vote could not proceed due to the absence of People Power Party members.

Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, is speaking after submitting a constitutional amendment proposal of the Republic of Korea at the first plenary session of the May extraordinary session held at the National Assembly on the 7th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Speaker Woo Won-shik stated, "The number of members who voted did not reach two-thirds of the total registered members required for a quorum," and declared, "The vote on this agenda item is not valid." Only 178 lawmakers participated in the vote, falling short of the 191 needed for a quorum. Woo expressed his regret, saying, "This is the first attempt at constitutional amendment in 39 years, yet a valid vote could not take place in the National Assembly before it could be put to a national referendum. I am deeply sorry to the people," and added, "The purpose of this amendment was to ensure that, after the suffering and chaos caused by martial law, such events could never happen again, but the vote did not take place."

The constitutional amendment proposal included strengthening the requirements for martial law, adding the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the Busan-Masan Uprising to the preamble, and provisions for balanced regional development.

Woo warned, "If we fail to establish safeguards in the Constitution and another incident like 12·3 occurs, all members of the 22nd National Assembly will be held accountable by history."

He added, "I will reconvene the plenary session at 2 p.m. on May 8," urging members of the People Power Party to reconsider their participation in the vote.

Earlier, Speaker Woo encouraged People Power Party lawmakers to take part in the vote, emphasizing, "This vote is a procedure to ask the people about the constitutional amendment," and criticized, "Denying the people a direct vote on the amendment is an overreach of the authority entrusted to us by the people." He further stated, "Opposing the amendment and not participating in the vote are different matters," and argued, "As representatives of the people, lawmakers should exercise their right to judge and vote responsibly."

The People Power Party is also expected to respond to the May 8 plenary session with an official party position against the amendment and by not participating in the vote. When asked by reporters whether the party would continue to abstain if the session is held the following day, Kwak Gyutaek, the People Power Party's chief spokesperson for parliamentary affairs, replied, "That is highly likely." When asked if any lawmakers had advocated for entering the plenary chamber during the party's general meeting, he answered, "Not at all."

After the vote on the constitutional amendment failed to proceed and the agenda shifted to legislative bills, People Power Party lawmakers entered the plenary chamber.

The constitutional amendment proposal was previously submitted to the plenary session following an explanatory speech by Han Byungdo, the Democratic Party's floor leader. Han appealed, "The National Assembly must pave the way for constitutional amendment so that the people, as the true sovereigns of the Constitution, can decide through a national referendum," and earnestly called for cooperation to ensure the passage of the amendment.

However, the People Power Party announced its intention to abstain from the constitutional vote in a procedural statement. Yoo Sangbeom, the party's deputy floor leader for parliamentary operations, said during a procedural statement, "We are absolutely not opposed to constitutional amendment itself," and argued, "If we are to amend the Constitution, it should be done to uphold liberal democracy and the rule of law, and after thorough consideration, we must enact a proper amendment that truly reflects the will of the people." He proposed, "In the latter half of the 22nd National Assembly, the ruling and opposition parties should form a special committee on constitutional amendment by consensus and discuss a comprehensive amendment covering everything from the preamble to the restructuring of the power structure."

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