National Assembly Proceeding Hall

The National Assembly Proceeding Hall (Korean: 국회의사당; Hanja: 國會議事堂; RR: Gukhoeuisadang) is a building in Yeouido-dong, Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul which serves as the location of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, the legislature of South Korea.

National Assembly Proceeding Hall
The Korean National Assembly Building in Yeouido, Seoul
Korean name
Hangul	국회의사당
Hanja	國會議事堂
Revised Romanization	Gukhoeuisadang
McCune–Reischauer	Kukhoeŭisadang

Korea National Assembly Proceeding Hall in 2019

History

The current building was completed in 1975.^[1] Before 1975 the South Korean government used the colonial-era Bumingwan, which is now used by the Seoul Metropolitan Council. The plenary chamber has seating for 400 people, ostensibly in preparation for new lawmakers in case Korean reunification occurs. The National Assembly Proceeding Hall has been used for the inaugurations for several presidents Roh Tae-woo in 1988, Kim Young-sam in 1993, Kim Dae-jung in 1998, Roh Moo-hyun in 2003, Lee Myung-bak in 2008, Park Geun-hye in 2013, Moon Jae-in in 2017, and Yoon Suk-yeol in 2022.^[2]

During the period of the 2024 South Korean martial law, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol sent troops to storm the building where clashes occurred between the soldiers and civilians including parliamentary staff. The soldiers were prevented from reaching the session hall, enabling lawmakers to vote down the declaration of martial law and forcing the military to withdraw.^[3]

See also

• National Assembly of South Korea
• Blue House, the South Korean president's former official residence

References

1. https://www.loc.gov/law/help/national-parliaments/national-parliaments.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
2. "The National Assembly, a witness to the Korean political history". KBS World. Archived from the original on 2017-09-07. Retrieved 2017-09-07. The plenary meeting room taking up three floors is fan-shaped. The Speaker's chair is situated in the center or the narrow part of the room and the lawmakers' seats fan out from there. The seats are movable and the room is big enough to accommodate 400 seats just in case the unification of South and North Koreas calls for more representatives.
3. "6 hours of chaos: How martial law was declared and lifted". The Korea Times. 4 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.

37°31′55.21″N 126°54′50.66″E