Woo Won-sik, Speaker of the National Assembly: "There is a clear need for constitutional amendment... Presidential power must be decentralized"

"Clear Authority to Control National Assembly During Martial Law"
"Send Ruling and Opposition Party Diplomatic Delegations to US, Japan, China, etc."

Amid growing skepticism about the imperial presidency following the passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol, Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-shik stated, "There is definitely a need for constitutional amendment."

At a press conference with foreign reporters held at the National Assembly Sarangjae on the 19th, Speaker Woo said, "Because power is too concentrated in the president, various misjudgments can occur, so it must be corrected," adding, "It is essential to disperse presidential power and strengthen the authority of the National Assembly." He continued, "This incident involving President Yoon is not due to a lack of constitutional provisions," pointing out, "It is a wrongful act even under the current constitution." He then mentioned, "I have always been an advocate for constitutional amendment," and "The constitution has not reflected nearly 40 years of changes since the 1987 constitutional amendment."

Woo Won-shik, Speaker of the National Assembly, is holding a press conference with foreign media at Sarangjae, the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 19th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Speaker Woo had also officially proposed a 'constitutional amendment dialogue' to President Yoon in his Constitution Day address last July. At that time, he pointed out the drawbacks of the five-year single-term presidential system and suggested holding a 'constitutional amendment referendum' during the 2026 local elections.

On the same day, Speaker Woo emphasized the necessity of revising the law to allow the National Assembly to reject the president's declaration of martial law. He said, "It is necessary to amend the law to give the National Assembly clearer authority to control this part (martial law declaration), and we plan to work on that." He added, "Although the constitution and the Martial Law Act define the role of the National Assembly, there are people who make misjudgments."

Furthermore, Speaker Woo announced plans to dispatch diplomatic delegations to restore South Korea's national credibility, which has been damaged by the martial law and impeachment incidents. He explained, "We will form parliamentary diplomatic delegations in the form of 'special envoys of the Speaker' to the United States, Japan, China, the EU (European Union), and others," adding, "The ruling and opposition parties have agreed on the formation of 5 to 6 teams. We are moving forward with this jointly."