The People Power Party on the 25th launched a "four nights, five days filibuster (a lawful obstruction of proceedings through unlimited debate)" after a breakdown in its agreement with the Democratic Party of Korea on handling bills. The People Power Party will intensify its fight against the administration with a filibuster inside the Assembly and, outside the Assembly, a large rally in Seoul on the 28th.
Song Eon-seok, the People Power Party floor leader, met with reporters after finishing a general meeting of lawmakers at the National Assembly that afternoon and said, "There are still serious problems remaining with the four bills related to the Government Organization Act," announcing that the party would proceed with a filibuster.
He added, "Even if we take enough time to discuss, there is no problem, but we cannot go along with pushing them through unilaterally and coercively," and said, "There was a consensus that we must show the public our strong opposition. We decided to carry out a filibuster on the four bills."
◇Filibuster only on contested bills… weekend outdoor rally
The People Power Party said the bills subject to the filibuster are four: ▲ the amendment to the Government Organization Act ▲ the bill on the establishment and operation of the Broadcasting, Media and Communications Commission ▲ the amendment to the National Assembly Act ▲ the amendment to the Act on Testimony and Appraisal, etc. at the National Assembly. Among these, the People Power Party is strongly opposing the amendment to the Government Organization Act, which centers on abolishing the prosecution service, splitting the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and reorganizing the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment.
It supported the resolution and livelihood bills that were introduced before the amendment to the Government Organization Act. The resolutions and livelihood bills introduced that day were a resolution for the successful hosting of the 2025 Gyeongju APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) summit, an extension of the activity period of the special committee on measures to support wildfire damage, and the Tattooist Act, among others. Floor leader Song said, "We judged there was no reason to filibuster the five motions."
Earlier, the People Power Party had warned that if the Democratic Party pressed ahead with legislation, it would conduct a filibuster even on non-controversial bills. Given that the Democratic Party plans to introduce a total of 69 bills, there was speculation that, arithmetically, the filibuster could continue for up to 70 days. However, since the People Power Party decided to support non-controversial bills at the plenary session that day, there is a chance the filibuster standoff will not escalate to extremes.
The People Power Party expects the filibuster to serve as a warm-up for a large outdoor rally to be held near Seoul City Hall on the 28th. Under the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be ended 24 hours after it begins with the support of three-fifths of all members. The Democratic Party can pass one bill per day of filibuster if it waits four days. However, the People Power Party plans to use the filibuster as a public-opinion campaign for its fight against the administration.
◇Pushing fights inside and outside the Assembly… but doubts within the party
The People Power Party is widening the front inside and outside the Assembly to block the Democratic Party's legislative push, but skeptical reactions are emerging within the party. The explanation is that, with fewer incumbent lawmakers than the Democratic Party, it is realistically difficult to carry out a filibuster and an outdoor rally at the same time. There are also assessments that support at the outdoor rally at Dongdaegu Station on the 21st fell short of expectations.
A senior lawmaker of the People Power Party said, "The size of the rally at Dongdaegu Station was not as large as expected, and there could be question marks over whether it can even win over the moderates," adding, "Even looking at past cases, there have been few times when abandoning Yeouido and going outside has been successful." Another lawmaker said, "The Seoul rally may be good for figures active in the capital region, but for lawmakers based in their local districts, I don't think it is very effective."