Lee Jun-seok: "Constitutional Amendment? President Yoon Needs the Courage to Relinquish Power"

Lee's 7-Hour Tribute at the 5·18 Democratic Cemetery

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, said regarding the constitutional amendment discussions at the opening of the 22nd National Assembly, "President Yoon Seok-yeol needs the courage to relinquish his own powers."

On the morning of the 15th, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, and the elected members were carrying chrysanthemums and moving at the National 5·18 Democratic Cemetery in Buk-gu, Gwangju. Leader Lee personally brought 1,000 chrysanthemums grown in Gimhae, Gyeongnam, and offered flowers and paid respects at the individual graves, totaling 995.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 17th, Lee appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and spoke about the recently demanded 'four-year presidential two-term system' mainly from the opposition, stating, "Amending the constitution to reduce the president's powers requires the president's decision."

He emphasized, "Although the Board of Audit and Inspection is an independent organization, since the president exercises the authority to appoint its head, when the executive branch runs rampant like this, placing the Board under the legislature as in the United States would enable checks on the executive branch."

Earlier, ahead of the 44th anniversary of the May 18 Democratic Movement, on the 15th, Lee attracted attention by visiting the Gwangju National May 18 Democratic Cemetery, paying respects and laying flowers at all 995 graves over 7 hours and 30 minutes.

Regarding the background, Lee explained, "I once participated in a rice ball-making event with Jeon Woo-won, the grandson of former President Jeon Du-hwan, and at that time, I heard that 'besides the well-known martyrs of May 18, many others are buried there. Please also look after them.' That left a strong impression on me, which made me think I should pay respects to all 995 graves."

When asked why he chose Buddha's Birthday as the day to visit the May 18 Democratic Cemetery, he replied, "I thought it would take at least a whole day to pay respects and lay flowers at every grave in the May 18 Democratic Cemetery. As we looked for a day when we could fully dedicate ourselves, we decided on Buddha's Birthday, which is closest to May 18."