"100,000 People to Gather at Daehanmun"… 'Filibuster' PPP to Apply Dual Pressure with Seoul Rally

Rally on the 28th, first outdoor rally in Seoul in 5 years and 8 months… Attempt to consolidate public criticism of the ruling party

PPP to Enter 4-Night, 5-Day Filibuster… Internal Calls for Full Filibuster, Even on Non-Contentious Bills

Filibuster begins on amendment to government organization act… Empty seats in the assembly (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Joo-sung = People Power Party lawmaker Park Soo-min is filibustering the amendment to the government organization act at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 25th. As the filibuster began, most lawmakers left their seats, leaving them empty. 2025.9.25 utzza@yna.co.kr

The People Power Party (PPP), which has launched a filibuster (legal obstruction of legislative proceedings through unlimited debate) to block the passage of a bill to reform the government organization, will hold a large-scale rally near Seoul City Hall on the 28th.

The PPP is increasing the level of its struggle both inside and outside the National Assembly, believing that public criticism is growing as the Democratic Party, citing the alleged meeting between Judge Cho Hee-dae and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, attacks the judiciary led by Cho Hee-dae and proceeds with the government organization bill to dismantle the prosecution.

The PPP will hold a rally titled 'Rally to Denounce the Democratic Party's Legislative Dictatorship and Destruction of the Judiciary' at Daehanmun near Seoul City Hall at 2 PM on the 28th.

This will be the first outdoor rally held by the PPP in Seoul since the rally at Gwanghwamun Square in January 2020 by its predecessor, the Liberty Korea Party.

The PPP anticipates that approximately 100,000 people will attend this rally.

Previously, the rally held in Daegu on the 21st had an attendance of 70,000 people (according to the party's estimate), and the PPP expects an even larger turnout in Seoul, a barometer of public sentiment.

Through this rally, the PPP aims to consolidate public criticism of the government and ruling party's unilateral governance and highlight the constitutional crisis theory arising from the ruling party's "attack on the judiciary."

The PPP also plans to continue the filibuster that began the previous day.

Through the filibuster, which will last for five days until the 29th, the party aims to directly inform the public about the problems with the ruling party's agenda, such as "dismantling the prosecution" and "abolishing the Korea Communications Commission led by Lee Jin-sook."

In this regard, there are ongoing calls within the party for the necessity of a comprehensive filibuster to block even non-contentious bills.

When asked on SBS radio if the plan to filibuster 69 non-contentious bills had changed, Supreme Council member Shin Dong-wook said, "No. We will continue with all of them."

He added, "It is not important whether we filibuster one or two bills. We are desperate to inform the public, in any way possible, about how wrong the current actions are."

Choi Eun-seok, the party's deputy floor leader, also told reporters at the National Assembly, "There is a consensus among lawmakers that it would be good to filibuster all non-contentious bills," adding, "The floor leader will decide on the filibuster after hearing the opinions of the lawmakers."

This approach by the PPP takes into account its status as a minority party. Although the filibuster system was originally introduced to check the legislative dominance of a specific party, given the current parliamentary composition, its effect is limited to delaying a vote by only 24 hours.

However, the PPP hopes that by including non-contentious bills in the filibuster, it will lead to a de facto unlimited filibuster, forcing the Democratic Party to make various considerations before passing bills.

However, if an actual unlimited filibuster begins, it could conflict with other legislative strategies, such as disrupting the parliamentary audit, often referred to as the "opposition party's playground," and could also lead to a situation where the party has to oppose bills that it had previously agreed to in standing committees.

In a similar vein, extended outdoor protests could also blur the focus of in-house struggles, such as the parliamentary audit in October and the budget session in November.

For these reasons, the PPP plans to suspend outdoor protests for the time being after this Seoul rally.

Lawmaker Kwon Young-jin said on KBS radio, "As an opposition party, we have no choice but to go outside, but we cannot continue outdoor protests indefinitely." He added, "The outdoor rally protesting the ruling party's destruction of the judiciary will come to a certain conclusion this Sunday." Yonhap News

People Power Party holds rally at Dongdaegu Station to denounce government and ruling party (Daegu=Yonhap News) Reporter Yoon Gwan-sik = The People Power Party's 'Rally to Denounce the Opposition Party's Suppression and Dictatorial Politics' is being held at the square in front of Dongdaegu Station, Dong-gu, Daegu, on the 21st. 2025.9.21 psik@yna.co.kr