People Power Party Launches Unlimited Debate as Bangmunjin Act Is Introduced
Filibuster to End at Midnight Along with July National Assembly Session
On the afternoon of August 5, the People Power Party resumed a filibuster (unlimited debate) in response to the National Assembly’s plenary session bringing up the amendment to the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Association Act (Bangmunjin Act), one of the three broadcasting laws promoted by the Democratic Party, just as they had done the previous day.
On the 5th, the partial amendment bill of the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act is being submitted at the National Assembly plenary session. Yonhap News
Immediately after the Broadcasting Act was passed with 178 votes in favor and 2 against out of 180 members present, the National Assembly brought the Bangmunjin Act amendment to the floor. In response, the People Power Party began the filibuster with Kim Jangkyum, a People Power Party lawmaker, as the first speaker.
The previous day, around 4:00 p.m., the People Power Party had requested a filibuster when the amendment to the Broadcasting Act was brought to the plenary session. For 24 hours, until 4:14 p.m. on this day, lawmakers from both parties took turns participating in the filibuster.
Kim, referring to suspicions of "stock transactions under borrowed names" involving Lee Choonseok, the Democratic Party lawmaker and chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said, "I intend to closely watch whether this news will be reported on public broadcasting this evening or not."
Kim stated, "On August 4, during the plenary session, Lee was seen checking a stock account opened under another person's name," and added, "It is reported that the owner of the account currently works as an aide in Lee's office. The media is reporting that this is expected to cause a considerable stir."
As Kim continued to bring up suspicions related to Lee, Democratic Party lawmakers strongly objected. In response, National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonsik intervened, saying, "It is not appropriate to speak at such length about issues unrelated to the Bangmunjin Act and cause disruption in the plenary session."
Since the July extraordinary session of the National Assembly is set to end at midnight on this day, the filibuster is also expected to conclude at that time. In this case, the Bangmunjin Act is likely to be put to a vote at the plenary session of the August extraordinary session, scheduled for August 21.
According to the National Assembly Act, if the session ends while a filibuster is underway, the filibuster is automatically considered concluded. The relevant bill must then be put to a vote without delay in the next session.
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