National Assembly Speaker Rep. Woo Won-shik on Friday suspended the process to amend the Constitution, as a deadlock with the main opposition party was expected to persist.
Woo said during Friday's plenary session that the conservative opposition People Power Party had notified him that it would launch a filibuster in a show of protest against the constitutional amendment pushed for by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
Woo, who was a Democratic Party lawmaker before he assumed the Assembly Speaker role in 2024, said he would suspend the move to proceed with the amendment. He added that he would end his attempts to win votes from the opposition to allow a referendum on the amendment to be held in June.
He added that the People Power Party was planning to hold filibusters on 50 other bills that were to be tabled on Friday's session, meaning that the session could in theory last for more than 50 days.
In a rare rant at his chair during Friday's session, Woo claimed that the People Power Party was responsible for neglecting a golden opportunity.
"The People Power Party's irresponsible inertia brings no benefit to either the people or the National Assembly, so it deserves to be condemned," Woo said as he convened the session Friday.
"The People Power Party have not only given up the chance for a constitutional amendment that was hard to create, but they have also ditched their responsibility to fulfill the promises they made as a major political party," he also said.
Woo, whose term as Assembly Speaker ends in late May, also denied the People Power Party's accusations that the National Assembly hurriedly pushed through the amendment proposal without its consent. He said he initiated the amendment process with the People Power Party in November 2024
Adding that the content of the amendment ― to mention more historical movements as guiding spirits of South Korea's democracy and to grant the Assembly greater control over martial law ― was made with the consent of the People Power Party, Woo said it had failed to deliver on its promises to the public.
"Do you think you would ever escape the public suspicion that you have failed to sever ties with former President Yoon Suk Yeol?" Woo said. "I hope you feel ashamed."
Cheong Wa Dae's chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said people would "barely understand" the reasons why the People Power Party would oppose an amendment needed to "protect national security and democracy," urging the National Assembly to resume talks in the second half of this year.
This followed Thursday's plenary session at the National Assembly, in which 106 People Power Party lawmakers boycotted the vote on the constitutional amendment.
At least two-thirds of the 286 sitting lawmakers must be present at the voting session in order for the vote count to proceed. The boycott meant only 180 were there, 11 shy of the 191-member threshold.
People Power Party Floor Leader Rep. Song Eon-seog said after the plenary session that the party did not oppose the constitutional amendment. Instead, he claimed that the liberal party-controlled National Assembly was unilaterally attempting to put the amendment to a referendum at a time when local elections were underway.
Moreover, Song expressed regret that Woo was failing to remain neutral.
"The People Power Party is disappointed that the Speaker spoke in this manner, acting like a spokesperson for the Democratic Party," Song said. "We believe Woo's speech was too emotional and biased."
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