[December 7 National Assembly] 8 PM, Speaker Woo Won-sik "Will wait until 9:20 PM"

No Change After Kim Sang-wook's National Assembly Member Vote
Opposition Raises Suspicions of Ruling Party's Vote Interference...Ruling Party Denies
Woo Won-sik "Cannot Leave Citizens Out in the Cold"

At 7 p.m., Kim Sang-wook, a member of the People Power Party, participated in the vote on the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol. Kim said, "I believe President Yoon is unfit to be president," but added, "Since I am still a member of the party, I did not agree with this impeachment motion in accordance with the party's stance."

In the plenary session where the vote on President Yoon's impeachment motion was taking place, the voting was prolonged as they waited for the People Power Party members to cast their votes. Kim, who appeared unexpectedly, received a warm welcome from opposition party members. However, he revealed that he voted against the motion. Afterwards, the applause died down. He said, "Although I did not agree with the impeachment, I believed it was necessary to participate in the vote. I believed that was the duty and role of a member of the National Assembly."

On the evening of the 7th, when the impeachment vote against President Yoon Seok-yeol was underway, citizens gathered at Yeouido Park in Seoul shouted impeachment slogans. Photo by Heo Young-han

Kim also stated, "If the president does not propose measures acceptable to the people, I plan to actively support the next impeachment and express the opinion that the president should step down."

Afterwards, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over allegations of vote obstruction. The opposition claimed that the People Power Party was holding a party meeting without adjourning the plenary session, thereby obstructing the vote.

Park Sung-jun, the senior deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, claimed, "The People Power Party leadership is obstructing members' voting through the party meeting." Park cited Article 148-3 (Prohibition of Obstruction of Access to the Assembly Hall), stating, "No one shall obstruct a member from entering the plenary hall or committee meeting room to attend the plenary session or committee," and urged, "I ask the Speaker of the National Assembly to verify this matter." Roh Jong-myeon, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, added, "According to additional confirmation, members of the People Power Party who had privately promised to attend today's vote are currently unable to enter the assembly hall," and said, "They are currently unreachable. Therefore, we seriously suspect that they are trapped inside the party meeting room using it as an excuse."

In response, the People Power Party issued a statement saying, "People Power Party members have expressed their refusal to vote and are waiting for the counting outside the plenary hall," and accused, "Speaker Woo and the Democratic Party are forcing the vote by fabricating the absurd argument of vote obstruction."

As there was no change in the voting, at 8:50 p.m., Speaker Woo said, "Despite the bitter cold around the National Assembly, many citizens have come to wait for the voting results, and the world is watching the vote outcome," and pointed out, "Since the 19th National Assembly began secret ballots, there have only been five instances of vote invalidation."

He added, "If even a vote on something as serious as martial law cannot be established in a democratic powerhouse like South Korea, it would be ridiculous," and said, "The conscience and values of each member of the National Assembly cannot be substituted by the representatives of negotiation groups."

Speaker Woo said, "We cannot keep citizens standing outside the National Assembly fence all night in subzero temperatures," and stated, "I will wait until 9:20 p.m."