Woo Won-sik Officially Announces Candidacy for National Assembly Speaker... "With Determination to Oppose Military Dictatorship"

"Protecting the Separation of Powers Damaged by Excessive Use of Veto Power"

Woo Won-sik, a five-term lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, officially declared his candidacy for the Speaker of the 22nd National Assembly's first half.

On the afternoon of the 25th, Woo Won-sik announced on his Facebook, "I am running for the Speaker of the National Assembly," adding, "The 22nd National Assembly must become a 'parliament that protects the separation of powers,' firmly standing against the damage to democracy and national dignity revealed by the general election public sentiment." He further stated, "If we fail to produce results in democratic reform and the people's livelihood issues or fall out of sync, it will be difficult to avoid the public's reprimand. We must abandon the complacency of election victory and embrace a resolute spirit of serving the people's will with a do-or-die determination."

Woo Won-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is making a procedural statement at the Environment and Labor Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Woo presented four promises: ▲ to resist the violation of the separation of powers ▲ to overcome the shortage of eight seats together with the people ▲ to accelerate solving livelihood issues ▲ to prepare for South Korea's future through constitutional amendment. In particular, he emphasized, "The Speaker of the National Assembly has the duty to protect the people's legislative rights as stipulated by the Constitution and to uphold democracy to strengthen the people's fundamental rights," adding, "I will approach this with the determination that confronted the harsh military dictatorship and the urgency akin to the 15-day hunger strike to prevent the dumping of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant."

Previously, having taken a tough stance with the phrase "There is no neutrality in livelihood," he reiterated on this day, "I will go beyond the narrow neutrality defined by the National Assembly Act," stating, "Judgment of right and wrong and public sentiment come first." He also reaffirmed his 'hardline stance,' saying, "It is the destiny of the National Assembly and its Speaker to protect the spirit of separation of powers and the constitutional spirit, which have been damaged by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's abuse of judicial power and excessive use of veto power."

Additionally, Woo said, "I will take the lead in constitutional amendments for the presidential two-term system, relocating the Board of Audit and Inspection to the National Assembly, preventing political oppression by prosecutorial power, and strengthening the practical authority of the legislature," emphasizing, "These are national tasks that can no longer be delayed for the sake of remedying the current power structure's flaws and advancing South Korea's democracy."