South Korea’s ruling People Power Party signals a filibuster at the National Assembly plenary session, marking the first such action against a constitutional amendment bill since the nation’s founding.
Plenary Session Showdown
The party intends to expand filibusters to more than 50 lawmakers through marathon speeches, opting out of consensus on the bill’s full text during the session scheduled for May 8. This move follows a committee vote on May 7, where the president’s party boycotted proceedings, blocking passage.
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik and Democratic Party members aim to advance the amendment despite opposition, viewing it as unconstitutional if forced through without agreement.
Party Leadership Statements
Song Eon-seok, chief of staff for the People Power Party, declared internally that without consensus, the plenary will prioritize non-participation via extended speeches on all agenda items. At a chiefs-of-staff meeting, he criticized the speaker’s push for the session as an independent ruling party maneuver, labeling efforts to block the bill as a strategic response.
The party chief emphasized, “Our content opposes the constitution minimally, but we will not yield a constitutional amendment that scrutinizes past administrations.” Leading members reference inclusions like nods to the June Democratization Movement leader and the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in the full bill text, alongside proposals to bolster plenary powers through consecutive speaker votes.
If enacted at the 2 p.m. session, this filibuster would set a historic precedent, occurring 39 years after the 1987 constitutional shift—the first without ruling party support.
