Constitutional Amendment Vote Faces Another Deadlock... People Power Party Warns of 'Unconstitutional' Revote and Filibuster

Plenary Session Reconvenes at 2 p.m.
Song Eon-seok: "Resubmission Violates the Principle of One-Time-Only Deliberation"
Han Byungdo: "We Will Wait for Participation in the Vote Again Today"

On May 8, the National Assembly will convene a plenary session to attempt a second vote on the constitutional amendment bill. The People Power Party, which boycotted the previous session resulting in a failed vote, is maintaining its opposition to voting on the amendment and has even threatened to stage a filibuster on non-contentious bills. As a result, the outlook for the vote remains bleak.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonshik plans to convene the plenary session at 2 p.m. on this day to proceed with the re-vote on the constitutional amendment bill. The previous day, the bill was also presented at the plenary session, but only 178 lawmakers participated in the vote—well short of the quorum of two-thirds of the total 286 members, or 191 votes—so the vote was declared invalid without even opening the ballot boxes. Even though the presidential office expressed "regret" over the failed vote, the situation has not changed.

Choi Sujin, Chief Spokesperson for the People Power Party’s parliamentary group, stated after a party strategy meeting, "There are many unconstitutional aspects to bringing the constitutional amendment bill to the plenary session, so it should not be put to a vote. If it is, we are considering a filibuster not only on the amendment but on other bills as well."

Yonhap News Agency

Earlier, People Power Party Floor Leader Song Eon-seok claimed at the party’s strategy meeting that resubmitting the bill to the plenary session is unconstitutional. He stated, "The Speaker is ignoring the lack of a quorum, declaring the session invalid, and then reopening a plenary session without an agreed-upon agenda to hold another vote. I believe this violates the constitutional principle of 'one-time-only' for legislative deliberation." Song added, "Clearly, yesterday, a majority of lawmakers were present, but the amendment was rejected because it failed to secure two-thirds of the total votes. Holding another vote on the constitutional amendment in today’s session is an unconstitutional act."

In response to the People Power Party’s plan to filibuster, Speaker Woo criticized the move through his social media channels. He remarked, "The constitutional amendment cannot pass without the People Power Party’s participation in the vote anyway. Yesterday, they disrupted the vote by not attending; today, they are threatening a filibuster. This is truly difficult to understand." He continued, "At the very least, for the livelihood-related bills that both parties have already agreed upon, I urge you not to make them a subject of political strife. Please cooperate in handling them at the plenary session in a responsible manner, keeping your promises to the public."

Han Byungdo, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at an on-site Supreme Council meeting held in Songpa-gu, Seoul, "To hold the June 3 local elections and the national referendum on the constitutional amendment simultaneously, the National Assembly vote must be completed by the 10th." He added, "The Democratic Party will continue to wait for participation in the vote today as well."

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