Chairman Woo Won-sik Proposes Dialogue to President Yoon: "We Must Open the Bottleneck with Constitutional Amendment..."

Woo Won-sik "Current Constitution Fails to Create Path for Change"

Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-sik proposed a dialogue for constitutional amendment to President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 2nd, saying, "I hope the president's decision can open the blocked waterway."

In his opening address at the inauguration ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly that afternoon, Speaker Woo stated, "Let's hold a constitutional amendment referendum by the local elections at the latest. It is a realistic way to achieve constitutional amendment, free from political misunderstandings. Let's discuss it in earnest."

He raised the necessity of amending the constitution to fit the current reality, as 37 years have passed since the 9th constitutional amendment in 1987. Speaker Woo urged, "The reality has lost its way because we have not reflected the changes so far and have failed to create the path for future changes. This cannot continue. We must end the cycle of repeating constitutional amendment discussions only to end up back where we started."

He continued, "We must not waste the first two years of the 22nd National Assembly before entering the full-scale presidential election phase," and emphasized, "I once again propose to the ruling and opposition parties to keep the scope and timing of the constitutional amendment open, but hold the constitutional amendment referendum by the local elections at the latest."

Speaker Woo Won-shik is taking the oath at the opening ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly and the 418th National Assembly (regular session) held on the 2nd at the main chamber of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Speaker Woo also urged immediate discussion of electoral system reform in the National Assembly. He said, "No one opposes an electoral system that strengthens proportionality, representation, and diversity," and added, "We must create a pluralistic party system that fully reflects the vote share in the number of seats and embraces diverse public opinions. This is the way to escape polarized politics."

He further stated, "It becomes more difficult as the general election approaches. Then, electoral districts are redrawn just before the election day, resulting in a blind election," and requested, "This is a serious infringement on the people's right to participate. Let's start discussions immediately so that political reform does not end up as just a declaration this time as well."