Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party (PPP), reiterated his demand that the Democratic Party of Korea cease its attempts to ram through legislation, signaling a potential filibuster against controversial bills headed to plenary session.
At a general meeting of PPP lawmakers held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 24th, Song stated, "I strongly urge you once again to stop totalitarian dictatorial acts that destroy the judicial system and neutralize the Constitution." He added, "Please do not put the National Referendum Act, which contains content even the Speaker was unaware of and has procedural defects, on this plenary session agenda."
Song pointed out that "the ruling and opposition parties and the National Assembly Speaker had tentatively agreed to hold a plenary session on Thursday the 26th," but "by unilaterally pushing through the National Assembly Steering Committee and issuing convocation notices, they decided on their own to hold a plenary session today."
He sharply criticized this as "a case where the positive function of the National Assembly—gathering and coordinating opinions through various channels and stages to find optimal solutions—has completely disappeared."
Song also noted that "during the discussion process for the National Referendum Act and other bills, without even holding deliberations at the bill review subcommittee, they suddenly announced a full committee meeting and passed it unilaterally."
He stated, "The position of the Democratic Party and the Speaker's office was that leaving the unconstitutional parts of the National Referendum Act unaddressed would be failing to fulfill the National Assembly's duty." Song added, "I naively believed those words and thought it needed to be processed even though it wasn't immediately urgent, but then they pushed it through unilaterally at the Public Administration Committee."
He continued, "But looking at the content, the parts ruled unconstitutional are only a portion, and many supplementary provisions were included that even the Speaker was not aware of in advance. It really makes me feel self-doubt about why this National Assembly should even exist."
The ruling party plans to put the full amendment to the National Referendum Act and the third Commercial Act revision—bills that passed the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee the previous day—on the plenary session agenda.
Along with these bills, the three administrative integration laws (Daegu-North Gyeongsang, South Chungcheong-Daejeon, South Jeolla-Gwangju), whose discussion was halted the previous day amid strong opposition resistance, will return to the agenda at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's full meeting scheduled before today's plenary session. Ruling party-led forced passage is expected.
The PPP has announced it will launch unlimited debate (filibuster) on all bills if the controversial legislation reaches the plenary session floor.