Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Hyun-jung criticized the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Sunday, saying "the Democratic Party will enshrine the PPP's atrocity in history through a roll-call vote," after a constitutional amendment bill failed to pass due to the absence of PPP lawmakers.
"The PPP ultimately boycotted the vote on the constitutional amendment as a party line," Kim wrote on Facebook the same day. "The PPP, which has admitted to being an insurrection party, will face the stern judgment of history."
The National Assembly convened a plenary session that day and put the constitutional amendment to a vote, but the vote failed to reach quorum due to the absence of PPP lawmakers. National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik decided to convene another plenary session on the 8th to reattempt the vote on the amendment. However, with the PPP continuing to resist, prospects for passage remain dim.
The amendment was jointly proposed on the 3rd of last month by 187 ruling party, opposition and independent lawmakers, excluding the PPP. It includes provisions to explicitly stipulate the democratic ideals of the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising and the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in the preamble of the constitution, as well as a requirement for the president to obtain National Assembly approval when declaring martial law.
