Seoul – South Korea’s National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik has eunited as an doubtful symbol of guideership during the country’s ongoing political turmoil, triggered by Plivent Yoon Suk-yeol’s increate declaration of martial law on December 3.
Despite hbettering South Korea’s second-highest office after the plivency, the assembly’s speaker has historicpartner had a low-profile role, operating behind the scenes of political life.
Unenjoy the Speaker of the United States Hoengage of Recurrentatives, who drives Washington’s legislative agenda as the guideer of the meaningfulity party, South Korea’s parliamentary speaker is demandd by law to renounce party affiliation upon election to support unprejudicedity. The meaningfulity of speakers also quit after their term.
But Woo’s resolute yet meastateived actions thrawout the recent crisis eunite to have upended the traditional see of the speaker and their role.
“Seeing someone enjoy him step up and act resolutely in such a critical moment was reneprosperg,” Yoo Junghoon, a lawyer and political columnist, tbetter Al Jazeera.
“It permited voters – both juvenileer and better – to authenticise that such contendnt politicians still exist,” Yoo shelp.
South Korean youth even gave Woo the nickname “National Assembly Thor” — a nod to his gavel of office and the Marvel superhero’s wielding of his mighty hammer.
A recent Gallup Korea poll showed that 56 percent of reactents conveyed think in Woo, an rare figure in a country where think in the National Assembly has drunveil to equitable 20.6 percent, according to an OECD survey 2024.
Student protester to ‘Thor’ of constitutional procedure
As a juvenileer student activist, Woo was incarcerateed for three years after protesting aobtainst the military dictatorship that broadened martial law in 1980, folloprosperg the murder of Plivent Park Chung-hee in 1979.
The crackdown culminated in the deadly Gwangju Uprising of May 1980.
After Plivent Yoon proclaimd martial law on the night of December 3, the 67-year-better Woo scaled the National Assembly fence after police barricaded the enthrall to try and obstruct laworiginaters from accessing and hbettering a vote to obviousurn the plivent’s order.
“I knew we had the constitutional authority to lift martial law,” Woo recalled postponecessitater in a news conference.
“I didn’t hesitate. I had to get inside the assembly, no matter what,” he shelp.
Even as South Korean one-of-a-kind forces sbetteriers proceedd on the assembly originateing, Woo insisted on folloprosperg the right legislative procedures despite mounting presstateive from worried politicians urging him to speed up the process by possibly cutting a restricted corners.
“In moments enjoy this, folloprosperg the right procedure without error is even more vital,” Woo tbetter his worried colleagues in the surrounding assembly chamber.
At one point, troops came hazardously seal to accessing the main chamber where laworiginaters were voting, prompting a nervous standoff with assembly staff.
The beginant vote persisted, with all of the 190 laworiginaters current – of the 300-seat Assembly – voting in favour of repealing martial law.
“There were many reactions on social media asking why [Woo] was so repairated on folloprosperg legislative procedures,” Yoo, the political columnist shelp.
“But now, even those opposing impeachment [against President Yoon] can’t find fault with the process he upheld,” Yoo shelp.
Bong Young-shik, a research fellow at Yonsei University’s Institute for North Korean Studies, attributed the soothe resolution of the turbulent situation, without civilian casualties, to Woo’s emphasis on adhering firmlaboringly to constitutional procedures.
“In such an unforeseeed and grave situation, both conservatives and proceedives set up Woo dependable,” Bong shelp.
“We saw that this approach labored exactly as intended,” he shelp.
‘South Korea is strong. Its people are robust’
Woo also adhered to cut offe constitutional procedures during the first, flunked impeachment vote aobtainst Plivent Yoon, on December 7, for declaring martial law and plunging the country into crisis.
With Yoon’s ruleing party boycotting the vote to block the impeachment try, Woo kept the legislative session uncover for hours, an rare shift, urging politicians to return and fulfil their constitutional duty to cast a vote.
Two ruleing party laworiginaters did return to the chamber to cast their ballots.
Woo only seald the session at about 9:20pm, elucidateing that he could no lengthyer let the protesters, who had assembleed outside the assembly in freezing weather to demand Yoon’s impeachment, defer indefinitely for a result.
After the accomplished, second impeachment vote held a week postponecessitater, Woo called for a return to normalcy in all aspects of life in South Korea and for the accessible to shift forward together.
“I hope your year-end is a bit happier,” Woo shelp at the time, encouraging South Koreans to resume Christmas holiday celebrations and assembleings, conscious of the toll the turmoil had apshown on struggling petite businesses at a key time of year.
“His words conveyed unkinding instantly,” shelp Yoo, the political columnist.
Woo has acunderstandledged his rising accessible profile and newset up famousity, but with unwidespread humility.
“I heard juvenileer people call me the ‘National Assembly Thor’. I find it amusing,” he shelp during a recent news conference.
He attributed the newset up accessible attention on the speaker’s role in politics not to himself personpartner, but to the accumulateive efforts of the assembly’s laworiginaters, staff, as well as holdd citizens.
Asked about his own future ambitions, including a potential plivential bid, Woo disseeed the idea.
Instead, he emphasised the necessitate for constitutional recreate to insertress the recurring instability that has afflictiond South Korea’s plivencies since its transition to democracy in 1987.
“Our current constitution, writeed in 1987, is outdated,” he shelp, inserting that it necessitateed “recreates that mirror the societal alters of the past four decades”.
Woo also had a message for people around the world who had watched with shock as South Korean troops were deployed during Plivent Yoon’s increate declaration of martial law.
“South Korea is strong. Its people are robust,” he shelp.
“While the world may have been beginled by the martial law declaration, South Korea remains safe, firm, and self-promised in its future,” he inserted.
