People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seog on the 8th criticized the renewed push to hold a vote on the constitutional amendment at the plenary session that afternoon as "a highly unconstitutional practice."
At a floor countermeasures meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, the floor leader Song said, "There was a vote on the constitutional amendment that the ruling party side rammed through unilaterally yesterday," and added, "Because the yes votes fell short of two-thirds of all members, it was naturally voted down."
Earlier, a constitutional amendment bill proposed by six parties from both the ruling and opposition camps, excluding the People Power Party, was placed on the agenda of the plenary session the previous day. In the vote on the amendment, 178 lawmakers participated, excluding the People Power Party (106 members), and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik around 4:04 p.m. declared the vote on the amendment invalid due to a lack of a quorum. To pass the amendment at the plenary session, approval by two-thirds of all members (19) is required.
On this, the floor leader Song countered, "Yesterday the speaker said the vote was invalid because it did not reach two-thirds of all members, and today he is convening a plenary session that was not agreed upon in the agenda discussions to put the constitutional amendment to a vote again," adding, "This is a clear violation of the Constitution."
He explained, "The Constitution of the Republic of Korea clearly distinguishes between the quorum for resolutions—'a majority of all members present constitutes a quorum, and if a majority of those who voted approve, the motion passes'—and the number of votes required for passage," adding, "Ordinary motions are to pass with a majority present and a majority in favor, while a constitutional amendment is stipulated to require the approval of at least two-thirds of all members."
The floor leader Song said, "Reintroducing an item that has been voted down once to the same session's plenary violates the principle of 'one-time deliberation,'" and criticized, "Speaker Woo Won-sik's remark that he will hold a plenary session today—unilaterally pushing ahead with a schedule not agreed upon between the ruling and opposition negotiating blocs—amounts to an unconstitutional act that disregards the Constitution."