Opposition leader Jang stages 24-hour filibuster in South Korea

Dec. 23 (Asia Today) — People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk held the National Assembly floor for 24 straight hours in an unlimited debate session, opposing a ruling-party-backed bill to create a special tribunal for sedition-related cases.

Jang began speaking at 11:40 a.m. Monday and ended at 11:40 a.m. Tuesday, the party said, calling it the first time the main opposition leader has personally led a filibuster of that length. The party said the speech surpassed its previous internal record of 17 hours and 12 minutes.

After stepping down from the podium without closing remarks, Jang shook hands with lawmakers from his party as they applauded, the report said. Lawmakers in the chamber cheered him at points during the overnight speech, according to the report.

Jang repeatedly argued the proposed “special court” would violate constitutional principles, the report said. He criticized the ruling party for renaming the bill and said altering the title does not change what he called its unconstitutional nature.

“I hope the people watching this filibuster will do just one thing: remember this law forever, and remember forever which lawmakers cast their votes in favor,” Jang said, according to the report.

The report said the debate ended after 24 hours under procedures initiated by the Democratic Party. It said the duration fell 18 minutes short of the longest widely cited U.S. filibuster, set by former Sen. Strom Thurmond in 1957.

The report also said subscriber totals on the People Power Party’s official YouTube channel surpassed 504,000 as the filibuster concluded, with real-time viewers nearing 9,700.

– Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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