"Bipartisan Participation Needed for Constitutional Reform Discussions"
The People Power Party has been promoting constitutional reform discussions day after day. This appears to be a full-scale pressure campaign against Lee Jae-myung, the leading opposition presidential candidate and leader of the Democratic Party, who has remained silent on the issue of constitutional reform. Political veterans also lent their support, arguing that constitutional reform should be pursued in light of the martial law and impeachment political crises.
On the 6th, Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party, held a "Constitutional Reform Forum for National Overhaul" at the National Assembly. Attending the event were the party leadership, including Kwon Young-se, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, and Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party. Additionally, numerous political veterans such as Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, Kim Jin-pyo, former Speaker of the National Assembly, Jeong Dae-cheol, president of the Constitutional Association, and Lee Jae-o, chairman of the Democracy Movement Memorial Foundation, were present.
The attendees agreed on the necessity of constitutional reform to revise the presidential system of concentrated power. They also called for bipartisan participation in the constitutional reform discussions. Floor leader Kwon emphasized, "It is time to break the cycle of repeated tragedies and fundamentally change the framework of national governance for sustainable development, not for partisan or political purposes." Representative Seong questioned, "Lee talks about pragmatism, but what good is pragmatism when the national structural design is flawed?" Joo Ho-young, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly (affiliated with the People Power Party), stressed, "We must seize the opportunity to amend the constitution during difficult times," adding, "While the content is important, the most crucial thing is how to persuade parties or leaders who oppose constitutional reform."
This is interpreted as a move to draw Lee into the constitutional reform debate. While the opposition, centered around the non-mainstream faction, has ignited the constitutional reform discussion, Lee has taken a reserved stance, stating that overcoming internal strife is a priority.
Political veterans also voiced a unified opinion on the necessity of constitutional reform. Former emergency committee chairman Kim said, "We should not continue to rely on the capabilities of an individual president," pointing out, "A system where the legislature and government operate separately can lead to unstable situations like the current one."
He added, "Those who seek to change the basic framework of Korean politics will have an advantage in the presidential election," and "In this election, candidates running should be compelled to make a public pledge regarding constitutional reform."
Former Speaker Kim emphasized that the ruling and opposition parties and the government must unite their efforts for constitutional reform. He said, "Regardless of who is responsible for the impeachment, the ruling and opposition parties and the government should empower Acting President Choi Sang-mok through a consultative body."
Specifically, he argued that a responsible prime minister system, elected by both ruling and opposition parties, should be introduced to check the power concentrated in the president. He noted that once the responsible prime minister system is established, the introduction of a parliamentary system could be considered in the long term. Furthermore, he added, "Constitutional reform alone is insufficient for politics based on dialogue and compromise," and suggested, "We need to change to a U.S.-style party system within the legislature and a large multi-member district system."
Meanwhile, the People Power Party designated Deputy Speaker Joo as the chairman of the constitutional reform special committee on the same day. After selecting committee members, the constitutional reform special committee is scheduled to launch next week. Once formed, the committee will begin preparing its own constitutional reform proposal.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
