O Sehun Ignites Constitutional Amendment Debate in National Assembly: "Substantial Authority Must Be Transferred to Local Governments"

Debate Held at National Assembly Library
Dozens of Lawmakers Including Party Leadership Attend

On the 12th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited the National Assembly and ignited momentum for pushing a 'constitutional amendment' that boldly transfers central government authority to local governments. At this event, the party leadership, including Kwon Young-se, the Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, and Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader, all attended together to support Mayor Oh's constitutional amendment proposal.

On the same day, Mayor Oh held a 'Constitutional Amendment Debate for Overcoming the 1987 System through Local Decentralization' at the National Assembly Library Auditorium, stating that true decentralization requires boldly transferring power to local governments. He pointed to the cause of the emergency martial law situation as the 'Democratic Party's parliamentary violence' and said, "In most cases, people propose changing the single five-year presidential term to a four-year two-term system. I do not oppose that either," but added, "Boldly transferring strong powers to local governments to allow them to devise development strategies and exercise fiscal authority would be a much better solution to prevent the evils of the imperial presidency and reduce parliamentary violence."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is greeting participants at the 'Local Autonomy Constitutional Amendment Forum to Overcome the 87 System' held at the National Assembly Library on the 12th. 2025.2.12 Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Previously, Mayor Oh has advocated for the need for constitutional amendment since immediately after the emergency martial law incident last year. The purpose was to break the vicious cycle where the imperial presidency and the legislative dominance of the large opposition party lead to political conflicts by changing the political system. In his New Year's press conference, he also stated, "A constitutional amendment, including restructuring the power system to reduce the leader's risk and check parliamentary power, is necessary."

Regarding the day's topic of 'local decentralization,' he had emphasized it in various events and lectures last year. Mayor Oh said, "It should not be superficial local decentralization but substantial authority. In other words, only foreign affairs, security, and defense powers should remain with the president, and all other powers should be boldly transferred to metropolitan local governments." He proposed, "Currently, the ratio of national tax to local tax is 7 to 3, but we should boldly shift it to 5 to 5 or even more, completely transferring fiscal authority to local governments. From setting and collecting taxes to using tax revenues, all authority should be given to local governments."

The People Power Party leadership is aligned with Mayor Oh, a potential 'presidential candidate,' in pushing for constitutional amendment. Floor Leader Kwon said in his speech to the parliamentary negotiation group the day before, "I am convinced that the fundamental solution to the political crisis we are experiencing is a constitutional amendment," adding, "Now we need to consider a structure that disperses the power of the imperial presidency and also limits the abuse of power by the imperial parliament."

Meanwhile, at the debate, Mayor Oh demonstrated his stature as a presidential candidate by rallying numerous party members and citizens. When Mayor Oh entered the debate hall, the attending citizens stood up, shouting "Fighting" and chanting "Oh Se-hoon," applauding him. The debate hall was so crowded that there were no seats left, with dozens of ruling party lawmakers attending, including party leadership, Yoon Jae-ok, Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Ki-hyun, Joo Ho-young, and Choo Kyung-ho.