A constitutional amendment proposed by six parties led by the Democratic Party was brought to the National Assembly plenary session Monday, but was scrapped without even being counted as the vote was declared invalid due to the People Power Party's boycott. The ruling bloc plans to retry the vote on Tuesday, but the chances of passage remain slim as the People Power Party maintains its opposition.
The National Assembly convened a plenary session that day and attempted to vote on the amendment, but the vote failed to meet the required quorum. "The number of lawmakers who voted was 178, falling short of the two-thirds of registered members required for a decision," National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said. "I declare that the vote on the agenda has not been established." For the amendment to pass the National Assembly plenary session, 191 lawmakers, or two-thirds of the 286 registered members, must vote in favor. Taking into account independent lawmaker Kang Sun-woo, who is in custody, at least 12 People Power Party lawmakers must vote in favor for the amendment to pass the plenary. All People Power Party lawmakers were absent from the plenary session that day.
Speaker Woo said he would reconvene the plenary session Tuesday and resubmit the amendment. He urged the People Power Party to participate, saying, "If political calculations are brought into constitutional revision, we cannot open the future of the country." Kang Yu-jung, senior presidential spokesperson, said, "We convey our regret and disappointment that the vote was invalidated due to the vote boycott. Tomorrow, People Power Party lawmakers must participate in the vote with a sense of responsibility as members of a constitutional body." She added, "We will consider any measures within the legal and institutional framework to complete the purpose of constitutional revision."
The People Power Party plans to maintain its party line of opposing the amendment. Song Eon-seok, the People Power Party's floor leader, said, "Speaker Woo and the Democratic Party are trying to push through a plenary session on Tuesday that has not been agreed upon," and announced that the party would filibuster all agenda items brought to the floor.
Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties passed 115 non-contentious livelihood bills at the National Assembly plenary session that day. Among the bills that passed were an amendment to the Defense Industry Technology Protection Act, which imposes prison sentences of three years or more and fines of up to 6.5 billion won ($4.8 million) for leaking defense technology, and an amendment to the Labor Standards Act that allows annual leave to be used in hourly increments.
