3 PPP lawmakers back martial law amendment, 11 needed to pass
Published: 05 May. 2026, 14:26
Updated: 05 May. 2026, 15:22
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- PAIK JI-HWAN
- [email protected]
![PPP Rep. Han Zee-a speaks during a parliamentary audit at the National Pension Service building in Jeonju, North Jeolla on Oct. 24, 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/05/fdb6f171-5efe-4008-b2dd-523c2d840fbc.jpg)
PPP Rep. Han Zee-a speaks during a parliamentary audit at the National Pension Service building in Jeonju, North Jeolla on Oct. 24, 2025. [YONHAP]
Three lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) have voiced support for a constitutional amendment requiring the president to obtain parliamentary approval before declaring martial law, ahead of a vote scheduled for Thursday.
PPP Reps. Han Zee-a, Kim Yong-tae and Cho Kyoung-tae expressed support for the move as of Tuesday.
“During the Dec. 3 martial law [in 2024], we saw that the National Assembly can request the lifting of martial law but cannot lift it itself, and we experienced what that means,” PPP Rep. Han said in a statement on Monday. “Granting the National Assembly the power to lift martial law, and ensuring that martial law cannot continue for a certain period without parliamentary approval, is about establishing checks and balances between powers — the core of democracy. Is there any value within the party that is more important than safeguarding democratic values?”
Under the current law, the National Assembly can only request the lifting of martial law from the president and does not itself have the authority to terminate it directly, but the amendment would also see martial law losing its effectiveness upon parliamentary majority vote.
Han’s comments come after a total of 187 lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and other minor parties proposed the amendment on April 3, a bill drawn up in response to former President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024, for which he faced insurrection charges and was ousted on April 4 of last year.
PPP Rep. Kim also underscored the need for the amendment in April, saying that its core purpose is to prevent “unconstitutional and illegal declarations of emergency martial law,” and that “the party leadership’s opposition effectively nullifies the resolution to cut ties with Yoon.”
![People Power Party interim leader Kim Yong-tae speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul on June 27, 2025. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/05/05/10d84e0e-5946-46f6-8e09-e5c70b75aa11.jpg)
People Power Party interim leader Kim Yong-tae speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul on June 27, 2025. [YONHAP]
Fellow PPP lawmaker Cho earlier in March urged the party leadership to support the move.
The DP-controlled National Assembly needs 191 votes from the current 286 seats — down from the full 300 due to lawmakers’ resignations ahead of the June 3 local elections — to pass the amendment, meaning the parliament needs 11 votes from the 106-PPP. Once the amendment clears the National Assembly, it is put to a nationwide referendum, taking effect only if it is approved by a majority of voters.
PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok, however, has not voiced support for the amendment, although he apologized for martial law on Jan. 7.
The constitutional amendment also includes provisions to include the legacy of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the 1979 Busan-Masan pro-democracy protests in the preamble of the Constitution.
The May 18 movement was a 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju that was violently suppressed under military rule, while the 1979 Busan–Masan pro-democracy protests in Busan and Masan, South Gyeongsang, challenged authoritarian rule and helped trigger broader democratic change in Korea. Including the legacy of these movements in the Constitution’s preamble means formally recognizing them as key historical foundations of Korea’s democracy and embedding their significance and democratic values at the highest level of the country’s legal framework.
BY PAIK JI-HWAN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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