National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik withdrew his proposal for simultaneous voting on the presidential election and constitutional amendment on the 9th. After strong backlash from the Democratic Party and others, he shifted his position after three days, suggesting to discuss constitutional amendments again after the election.
On that day, Woo stated in a post on social media that "he judged that simultaneous voting on the presidential election and constitutional amendment has become virtually impossible in the current situation." This is due to the progressive camp, including the Democratic Party, Justice Party, and Progressive Party, asserting that "stabilizing the political situation takes precedence over discussions about constitutional amendments at this time."
Previously, on the 6th, Woo suggested conducting a national referendum on the constitutional amendment simultaneously with the presidential election day, proposing 'simultaneous voting on the presidential election and constitutional amendment.' However, it immediately encountered fierce opposition from the Democratic Party.
Additionally, Woo criticized acting Prime Minister Han Duck-soo for nominating Lee Wan-kyu, head of the Legislation Office, and Ham Sang-hun, presiding judge of the Seoul High Court, as successors to Acting Constitutional Court President Moon Hyung-bae and Constitutional Court Justice Lee Ji-sun on the previous day, stating that "it is not easy to have stable discussions on the constitutional amendment."
He noted, "Acting Prime Minister Han has ignored the National Assembly and thrown the political situation into chaos by nominating a constitutional court justice who is the president's share beyond his authority," and added, "If the constitutional amendment proposed by the People Power Party reduces the authority of the National Assembly, then agreement is virtually impossible."
He continued, "There were variables in the consensus reached with the leadership of each party in the National Assembly prior to my proposal," and stated, "For now, I believe it is best to fully accommodate the concerns raised. I will gather the opinions of each party again in the future."
Woo also reiterated the background of advocating for the constitutional amendment. It appears to have been influenced by criticism within the Democratic Party that he was "doing his own politics."
He stated, "The reason for suggesting simultaneous constitutional amendments during the presidential election is to escape the cycle of failed attempts at constitutional amendments that have been repeated over the past 30 years," and added, "I judged that the period before the presidential election is the only time to agree on the four-year term system that determines the president's term."
He further mentioned, "It is also important to agree on measures to institutionally prevent the national crisis and chaos caused by the 12.3 state of emergency," adding, "The need for the National Assembly to have approval authority for the state of emergency has been raised by various sectors during the state of emergency situation. Constitutional amendments are a way to institutionalize broad social demands at a high level."