Hyun Byung-do: "People Power Party Blocks Constitutional Amendment with Filibuster... Actively Considering Amending National Assembly Act"

Constitutional Amendment Bill Fails to Pass Plenary Session
Woo Won-shik: "Will Halt Further Attempts at Amendment"

The constitutional amendment bill was not submitted to the plenary session of the National Assembly on May 8 due to a filibuster (unlimited debate) by the People Power Party. In response, the ruling Democratic Party stated it would "actively consider" legislation to prevent abuses of the filibuster process.

Byungho Han, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the meeting of floor leaders of ruling and opposition parties presided over by Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 7th.

Hyun Byung-do, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, met with reporters immediately after the adjournment of the plenary session and said, "The People Power Party's use of a filibuster to block the constitutional amendment will draw strong criticism from the public and will undoubtedly be judged by the people in the future."

Floor Leader Hyun stated, "If the filibuster is abused to run the National Assembly in this manner, it is not just." He continued, "Because this does not fit the proper operation of the National Assembly, we cannot avoid amending the National Assembly Act to address cases of filibuster abuse in the future. If this continues, we will actively consider such amendments."

Previously, Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, attempted to convene a plenary session both the day before and on May 8 to bring the constitutional amendment bill to the floor. However, he gave up on submitting the bill as the People Power Party launched a filibuster. Speaker Woo stated, "Yesterday, the People Power Party invalidated the vote by not participating. Today, they have declared their intention to hold an unlimited debate, so I will no longer submit the constitutional amendment bill," adding, "As of today, this procedure is halted."

The Democratic Party strongly criticized this situation. Lee Joo-hee, floor spokesperson of the Democratic Party, commented, "The People Power Party, by ultimately blocking the constitutional amendment—which is a demand of the times—and paralyzing the National Assembly for partisan interests, has openly admitted to being an accomplice to forces of insurrection. This is not only a declaration of aiding and abetting insurrection but also a reckless act that takes the livelihoods of the people hostage."

In contrast, the People Power Party rebutted Speaker Woo and the Democratic Party. Song Eon-seok, representative of the People Power Party, met with reporters immediately after the adjournment of the plenary session and said, "A constitutional amendment is meaningful only if we thoroughly contemplate and debate how to enshrine the values of Korea's liberal democratic constitutional history into the constitution. It is entirely wrong to simply submit a constitutional amendment bill among themselves and approach it as a matter of just voting for or against it."

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