Opposition and People Power Party Clash at Party Meeting Room Visit... Ruling Party Says "Get Out"

On the night of the 7th, opposition party lawmakers including those from the Democratic Party visited the ruling party's meeting room to encourage participation in the impeachment vote against President Yoon Seok-yeol, but were blocked by party officials, leading to a scuffle. This was to verify suspicions that the People Power Party leadership was obstructing their party members' free voting decisions under the pretext of a party caucus.

The Democratic Party floor leadership and the Innovation Party visited the People Power Party caucus meeting room in Room 246 of the National Assembly Main Building in Yeouido, Seoul, around 8 p.m. that day. Park Seong-jun, the Democratic Party floor deputy leader, explained, "Regarding the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol, we were curious about the position of People Power Party lawmakers who are not voting and the leadership's stance, so we politely requested a meeting."

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He added, "When no one came out for a while, I went to the door and said I wanted to meet with the People Power Party leadership," and "Lawmakers Bae Jun-young and Shin Dong-wook came out, so I politely requested a meeting and said I wanted to express the floor leadership's position to the People Power Party lawmakers as their representative."

Park, the floor deputy leader, explained, "Suddenly, they raised their voices asking what qualifications we had to come and why we came, and our lawmakers raised their voices in response," adding, "It seemed like they did not know basic political protocol. I was willing to listen. It is natural to extend a hand, but in typical Yoon administration fashion, they shouted loudly without any courtesy toward the other party." People Power Party officials protested, saying, "Get out" and "Voting is free."

Opposition lawmakers suspect that the People Power Party leadership is blocking the impeachment vote. No Jong-myeon, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, also said, "According to additional confirmation, some People Power Party lawmakers who had privately promised to attend today's vote after prior arrangements are currently unable to enter the meeting room," adding, "They are currently unreachable. Therefore, we seriously suspect that they are trapped inside the internal space under the pretext of the party caucus."