Woo Won-sik, Ranked 'Most Trusted' Among Key Positions... Gaining National Attention Amid Impeachment Crisis

Showing Stability at Every Critical Moment After Martial Law
Carefully Managing Procedures with Composure Even During Martial Law Lift

Amid the emergency martial law situation, the leadership of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik has become a topic of discussion. He is being praised for demonstrating stable leadership from the emergency martial law to the presidential impeachment motion.

On the 14th, after declaring the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon, Speaker Woo stated, "Democracy is proven through the lives of the people," adding, "Now, together, let us take one more step forward to the next stage. The National Assembly and the government will unite and cooperate to quickly stabilize the livelihoods and daily lives of the people and to prevent domestic and international instability and concerns in all areas including the economy, diplomacy, and national defense." After mentioning stable state administration, Speaker Woo said, "I hope the year-end for all citizens will be a little happier," and urged, "Please resume the year-end parties that were canceled." He noted, "The small business owners and self-employed in the local economy are having a very hard time," emphasizing, "The future of the Republic of Korea, our hope, lies within the people." He even took care of the livelihoods of small business owners frozen during the emergency martial law period.

Speaker Woo Won-shik is announcing the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol at the 4th plenary session of the 419th National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly on the 14th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

In fact, Speaker Woo became the head of the legislature after many twists and turns ahead of the 22nd National Assembly. Initially, it was widely expected that Representative Chu Mi-ae would be elected at the Democratic Party caucus, but Woo miraculously became the candidate for National Assembly Speaker. Since then, he has faced criticism for being conciliatory compared to Representative Chu, who is considered more hardline.

However, during this crisis, Speaker Woo drew attention by showing stable leadership. On the day martial law was declared on the 3rd, he left his residence in Hannam-dong and arrived at the National Assembly around 11 p.m. When access was blocked, he climbed over the wall to the main building to demand the lifting of martial law. At that time, despite the possibility of martial law troops entering the plenary hall, he demonstrated a commitment to following proper procedures. Regarding this, Cheon Dae-yeop, Director of the Court Administration Office, who appeared before the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, praised him, saying, "The process of strictly adhering to legal procedures until the final resolution to lift martial law was reached gave us significant insights."

Due to efforts like these, Speaker Woo became the only individual whose trust rating exceeded distrust among key political figures. In a public opinion poll released by Gallup the previous day, Speaker Woo recorded a trust rating of 56%, ranking first among politicians. This contrasted with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party (trust 41% · distrust 51%), Prime Minister Han Duck-soo (trust 21% · distrust 68%), and Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party (trust 15% · distrust 77%).

The survey was conducted from the 10th to the 12th nationwide among 1,002 people aged 18 and over, using wireless phone interviews by telephone interviewers. The sampling error was ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, and the response rate was 15.8%. For more details, please refer to the website of the Central Election Poll Deliberation Commission.