Staying in the National Assembly After Climbing Over the Wall on the Day of Martial Law Declaration
"When the Country Is Dark, the People Bring Out the Brightest Light"
On the 14th, Woo Won-sik, the Speaker of the National Assembly who completed the impeachment procedure against President Yoon Seok-yeol, a suspect in the charge of treason, left a farewell message before leaving work.
Speaker Woo posted on Facebook that day, “I am leaving work after confirming that the impeachment resolution has been delivered to the Constitutional Court and Yongsan.” This was right after Kim Min-ki, Secretary General of the National Assembly, and Jo Oh-seop, Chief Secretary to the Speaker, handed over a copy of the impeachment resolution to Yoon Jae-soon, Chief Secretary for General Affairs at the Presidential Office, at 7:24 p.m. in the ‘Yongsan Children’s Garden’ meeting room and received a receipt.
Speaker Woo reflected, “Since December 3rd, I have heard the cheers of the people beyond the window of my office every day and seen the light of the cheering sticks they waved,” adding, “I felt every day the truth of the saying, ‘When the country is dark, the people bring out the brightest light.’” He also said, “During the IMF crisis, the people brought out gold; during the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster, the 2016 Gwanghwamun protests, and the 2022 Itaewon tragedy, they held candles,” and this time as well, “the people protected Korean democracy with ‘the brightest and strongest light that never goes out,’” expressing, “I felt reassured by their solidarity.”
He continued, “I hope that the bright and radiant energy that filled the streets now shines in the daily lives of our people. I will work harder,” and wished everyone “a peaceful weekend.”
During the state of emergency, Speaker Woo played a leading role by climbing over the fence to enter the National Assembly main building and passing the resolution to lift the emergency. After finishing a dinner with Sadyr Japarov, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, on the 3rd, he was resting at the National Assembly Sarang-gwan when he received a report about the declaration of the state of emergency and headed to the National Assembly. Arriving around 10:56 p.m., he tried to enter the National Assembly but was blocked by police barricades, so at the age of 67, he climbed over the wall.
Speaker Woo Won-sik (center) is delivering the impeachment resolution against President Yoon Seok-yeol to Secretary General of the National Assembly Kim Min-gi (left) at the National Assembly on the 14th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
He said, “Wherever the members gather and hold a meeting, that place is the National Assembly,” and immediately convened a plenary session to pass a resolution demanding the lifting of the state of emergency. He also appealed to parliaments worldwide to support Korean democracy. Speaker Woo declared, “I will not go home to the official residence until the situation is resolved and will remain on standby at the National Assembly office,” canceling all external schedules and staying in the main office of the National Assembly to manage the emergency and respond to any further developments.
As a result, in a trust survey on key political figures released by Gallup Korea on the 13th, he ranked first with 56% support. Notably, he was the only politician whose trust rating exceeded distrust. This contrasted with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (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%).
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