People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok held a filibuster (a lawful obstruction of proceedings through unlimited debate) for 24 hours. For the first time in constitutional history, the leader of the main opposition party set the longest filibuster record at 24 hours. Within the party, there is an assessment that Jang, who stepped up as the first speaker in the filibuster against the bill to establish a special court for insurrection cases, succeeded in strengthening cohesion for the fight against the ruling party.
Jang ended his filibuster at around 11:40 a.m. on the 23rd and stepped down from the podium in the main chamber of the National Assembly. Starting at around 11:40 a.m. the previous day, Jang conducted the filibuster for a total of 24 hours and 15 seconds. He broke the longest filibuster record set by People Power Party lawmaker Park Su-min in September (17 hours and 12 minutes).
Jang continued the filibuster through the night from the morning of the previous day until the early hours of the day. In between his remarks, he sprayed an oral spray to ease throat pain and drank vitamin water to replenish his strength. He was also seen rubbing his eyes to fight off drowsiness. With permission from National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, he went to the restroom from time to time.
The filibuster was filled with content emphasizing the unconstitutionality of the bill to establish a special court for insurrection cases pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea. Jang took to the podium holding books including Sung Nak-in's Constitutional Law, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America, Friedrich Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty, and Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt's How Democracies Die.
After finishing the filibuster, Jang left the main chamber to applause from fellow lawmakers. He said, "Even Democratic Party lawmakers will likely acknowledge the unconstitutionality of the bill to establish a special court for insurrection cases," adding, "If President Lee Jae-myung has the will to uphold the Constitution, even if this bill passes, he must exercise the power to request reconsideration. I strongly urge the exercise of the power to request reconsideration."
From the start, Jang volunteered to filibuster the bill to establish a special court for insurrection cases and was determined to carry out a "24-hour filibuster." People Power Party lawmakers in the main chamber encouraged Jang's filibuster, and Jang responded with smiles. As a result, Jang's "24-hour filibuster" also appeared to have the effect of bringing cohesion within the party.
Park Jung-ha, a People Power Party lawmaker aligned with the pro–Han Dong-hoon camp, also said on MBC Radio that day, "When you come to work in the morning and see a colleague who has stayed up all night, it tugs at your heart—that's human nature. You feel they've had a hard time, you feel sorry, and you appreciate their effort," adding, "I decided not to take too critical a view of personally showing that we need to fight."
By contrast, figures in the ruling camp moved to keep Jang in check. Minister of Justice Jung Sung-ho wrote on Facebook that day, "People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok is continuing to debate alone. This is the reality of our politics, where dialogue and compromise are missing." Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Byung-joo, who was preparing as the next speaker for the filibuster, came to the front of the podium during Jang's remarks and protested, saying, "This is not speaking on the bill that has been brought up."