People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk delivered a record-breaking filibuster exceeding 21 hours against the ruling Democratic Party's bill for special tribunals on insurrection cases linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid. Despite the effort, the National Assembly passed the measure, intensifying debates over judicial independence.
Following the Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) introduction of the bill on December 22, 2025, to establish specialized judicial panels at Seoul courts for handling insurrection cases from Yoon's failed December 2024 martial law declaration, opposition leader Jang Dong-hyuk of the People Power Party (PPP) began a filibuster at 11:40 a.m. that day. By 9 a.m. on December 23, it had surpassed 21 hours, eclipsing the prior record of 17 hours and 12 minutes set by PPP lawmaker Park Soo-min in September.
This was the first time a main opposition leader personally led such an effort in South Korea. The bill passed in a plenary session amid PPP protests. The DPK, with its parliamentary majority, argues it counters trial delays and biases, while the PPP decries it as unconstitutional court-packing and calls for a veto by President Lee Jae-myung.
Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho (DPK) remained overnight and posted on Facebook around 5 a.m.: "a reflection of our political reality, where dialogue and compromise have disappeared." He urged self-reflection on serving the people and parliamentary democracy.
The Supreme Court had earlier proposed its own panels as an alternative. Filibusters under the National Assembly Act can end after 24 hours with 180 lawmakers' consent. Yoon and ex-Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun face ongoing insurrection trials.
