Speaker Woo Criticizes Joo Ho-young's Refusal to Preside
Joo Presided for Only 33 Out of 535 Filibuster Hours
Woo: "Only Two Lawmakers Present During Presiding Handover"
Supporting the Passage of the Filibuster Restriction Bill
Woo Wonsik, Speaker of the National Assembly, criticized Deputy Speaker Joo Ho-young of the People Power Party on the 24th, targeting his refusal to preside over the filibuster (unlimited debate), saying, "This kind of unlimited debate should be abolished."
After the passage of the Fake News Eradication Act (an amendment to the Information and Communications Network Act) at the plenary session of the National Assembly that day, Speaker Woo said in his closing remarks, "Even though the unlimited debate proposal was submitted by his own party, he refuses to preside simply because it does not align with his political convictions."
Speaker Woo further stated, "There have been 10 unlimited debates so far, totaling 535 hours. Deputy Speaker Joo Ho-young presided for 33 hours, while I and Deputy Speaker Lee Hakyoung took turns for 502 hours," emphasizing, "Unlimited debate cannot be sustained if it relies solely on the stamina of the Speaker and one Deputy Speaker."
Woo Wonsik, Speaker of the National Assembly, criticized the unlimited debate (filibuster) operation method and the judiciary after adjourning the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 24th. 2025.12.24 Photo by Kim Hyunmin
Previously, before the filibuster began the day before, Speaker Woo had pointed out that Deputy Speaker Lee Hakyoung of the Democratic Party had taken on the responsibility of presiding over the filibuster and had reached his physical limit. He stated that if Deputy Speaker Joo also refused to preside, the plenary session could be adjourned.
However, Deputy Speaker Joo reaffirmed his refusal to preside via his social media the previous day, stating, "I cannot cooperate in creating a law that directly contradicts democracy."
As both ruling and opposition parties requested Speaker Woo to resume the plenary session, the unprecedented situation of halting the filibuster did not occur.
Upon resuming the plenary session in the early morning, Speaker Woo strongly criticized, saying, "(Deputy Speaker Joo) has no connection to parliamentarianism. The attitude of taking responsibility only when it suits you and abandoning it when it does not is anti-parliamentarian and only obstructs the operation of the National Assembly."
Speaker Woo's remarks are also interpreted as supporting the filibuster restriction bill (an amendment to the National Assembly Act), which was passed by the National Assembly Steering Committee led by the ruling party on December 3 and referred to the plenary session.
The filibuster restriction bill stipulates that if less than one-fifth of all lawmakers are present in the chamber during a filibuster, the Speaker may halt the debate and assign the role of presiding to a designated lawmaker.
On the other hand, not only the People Power Party but also the Rebuilding Korea Innovation Party, which is aligned with the ruling bloc, have opposed the bill, citing concerns about infringing on minority parties' right to unlimited debate and the possibility of the majority party manipulating plenary proceedings. As a result, the Democratic Party did not submit the bill to the plenary session held this month.
Speaker Woo stated, "Yesterday, during the presiding handover, there were only two lawmakers in the plenary chamber," and added, "Such abnormal unlimited debates are deeply embarrassing and shameful before the public. I urge the leaders of both negotiation groups to present solutions for improvement."
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