Fence-hopping Assembly speaker springs into action after declaration of martial law

Home > National > Politics

Fence-hopping Assembly speaker springs into action after declaration of martial law

Published: 05 Dec. 2024, 14:37

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik scales a fence of the parliament building in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday to circumvent blockage by police to enter parliament. [YONHAP]

Parliamentary speaker Woo Won-shik scaled a fence to enter a heavily-guarded National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday following President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law.

Park Tae-seo, the speaker’s spokesperson, detailed Woo's movements after the martial law declaration to reporters Wednesday.

At approximately 8:40 p.m. that day, Woo concluded a dinner with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov at the Sarangjae reception house in the National Assembly and arrived at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan District, central Seoul, shortly after 9 p.m.

While resting, Woo learned of Yoon's martial law declaration and immediately departed with his security team, arriving at the National Assembly at 10:56 p.m.

"Speaker Woo attempted to enter through Gate 3 of the National Assembly but was blocked by a wall of police vehicles," Park said, adding that "at around 10:57 or 10:58 p.m., the speaker and his head of security climbed over the wall."

Photos documenting the incident were also released.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik inspects the damage done to the parliament building in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

A resolution demanding the lifting of martial law was introduced in a National Assembly plenary session around 1 a.m. on Wednesday and passed unanimously. According to the Speaker's office, the resolution was confirmed to have been delivered to the Ministry of National Defense at 2:16 a.m.

Woo spoke directly with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo at approximately 5:50 a.m., confirming that Yoon had declared the lifting of martial law after a Cabinet meeting at 4:30 a.m. Woo adjourned the plenary session at 5:54 a.m.

In response to a question about whether there were attempts to arrest the Speaker, Park said, "After checking CCTV footage, there was an attempt to enter the third floor, but there is no evidence of any martial law forces attempting to arrest the Speaker."

Earlier that morning, Park had also informed reporters that Woo had spoken with U.S. Ambassador to Korea Philip Goldberg.

National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik inspects the damage done to the parliament building in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Wednesday. [YONHAP]

Woo reportedly told Goldberg, "The National Assembly responded calmly, and the Cabinet has decided to lift martial law. However, political instability should not lead to a security crisis on the Korean Peninsula," asking for the U.S. government’s "special attention."

Woo has canceled all external appointments and decided to remain on emergency standby at the National Assembly.

"Until this situation is resolved, I plan to remain on emergency standby at my office in the National Assembly, rather than returning to my official residence,” he wrote in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

"Last night was unusually long, but it was a day when both the people and the National Assembly demonstrated the maturity of democracy," Woo wrote, vowing to "take all necessary measures to quickly stabilize the current national chaos."

BY LEE HAY-JUNE [[email protected]]