Mic cutoff during filibuster sparks partisan clash at National Assembly
National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (center, top) looks down at Rep. Na Kyung-won (center, bottom) of the main opposition People Power Party as she speaks during a filibuster in a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
The ruling and opposition parties clashed at the National Assembly on Tuesday, with tensions erupting into protests after Speaker Woo Won-shik cut off the microphone during an opposition lawmaker's filibuster in a plenary session.
Woo cut off the mic 13 minutes after Rep. Na Kyung-won of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) launched the filibuster, demanding she stay on a vote on a revision to the Fair Transactions in Franchise Business Act.
As Na continued her criticism of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government, Woo condemned the PPP lawmaker for disrupting the session and turned off her microphone, citing the National Assembly Act.
Woo was formerly a DP lawmaker before leaving the party, as South Korea bans a National Assembly speaker from holding party membership.
The quarrel escalated into a clash between DP and PPP lawmakers.
The PPP has been pushing for a parliamentary probe into the prosecution's recent decision not to appeal a lower court ruling related to a high-profile real estate development project in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.
The case centers on allegations that little-known private asset management firms, including Hwacheon Daeyu, were allowed to reap massive profits from the 2015 Daejang-dong development project while President Lee Jae Myung was mayor.