| National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug delivers a speech at the Assembly in Seoul, Friday, celebrating the 72nd anniversary of Korea's Constitution promulgated in 1948. / Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
The ruling camp has reignited a long-running discussion over rewriting the Constitution for the first time in 33 years, with former and current National Assembly speakers stressing that now is the most opportune time.
The last constitutional revision was in 1987 when the nation started moving from a military-led government to democracy.
“Considering the political calendar, the time is ripe to start discussing the constitutional amendment before next year,” National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug said in a congratulatory speech marking the 72nd Constitution Day, Friday. “After the country overcomes the COVID-19 crisis, I hope that relevant talks will begin in earnest.
“The current system, revised in 1987 with the spirit of democratization, is focused mainly on putting an end to authoritarianism and expanding fundamental rights. However, there is a consensus that the outdated Constitution cannot reflect the value of current times.”
Park also said that despite the desperate need to change the system, the revision drive has been held back by partisan strife, based on each party's political interests. He urged political parties to follow the people's wishes, not their own.
Ahead of Park's speech, Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, another former Assembly speaker, called for beginning discussion of a constitutional revision. Chung, who served six terms in the Assembly, is a long-time advocate of amending the Constitution.
“It is time we undertook a revision of the Constitution to develop the nation's democracy further and reflect the social and political changes that have transpired over the years,” Chung wrote on Facebook.
The unexpected push comes because the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has enough seats to propose a constitutional amendment. In April's general election, it won 176 seats in the 300-strong Assembly. According to the Constitution, a constitutional revision has to be proposed by more than half of serving lawmakers or by the President.
Cheong Wa Dae made no comment on the proposals, saying it already acted on the issue with the previous Assembly ― although the bill was scrapped.
In March 2018, President Moon Jae-in proposed a bill on revising the Constitution, hoping that the nation would hold a referendum on the amendment concurrently with local elections in June of the same year.
However, the Assembly failed to reach an agreement, with the bill being scrapped automatically, and since then, the presidential office has stayed away from the issue.
In his New Year press conference in January, Moon said he had no plan to push for a constitutional amendment himself, adding that it's up to the Assembly.
Although neither Park nor Chung elaborated on how to change the Constitution, the key part of the amendment may be about changing the power structure from the current five-year, single-term presidency to a four-year, two-term one, and sharing presidential power with the prime minister.
Moon's earlier bill also sought to do this, amid calls for revising the presidential system which has long been blamed for giving too much power to the President and contributing to corruption and endless political and social conflict.
Supporters of the constitutional revision also say the two-term system will allow the government to pursue consistent and sustainable policy goals.
Regarding the move, main opposition United Future Party interim chief Kim Chong-in said the party would decide whether to join the discussion on a constitutional revision once the DPK presents more details.