[Constitutional Amendment, Connecting the Future] Incomplete Constitutional Amendment Procedure Act and National Referendum Act, the Biggest Obstacles

The Hidden Obstacles to Constitutional Amendment:
Poor Procedures and Systems
2016 Constitutional Incompatibility, National Referendum Act "Still Untouched"

Since the introduction of the direct presidential election system in 1987, the failure of constitutional amendment discussions each time has been largely influenced by the fact that the procedures related to constitutional amendments are both complicated and ambiguous.

In reality, the Constitution contains articles 128 to 130, which cover the proposal of constitutional amendments, parliamentary approval, and national referendums, outlining the procedures following the proposal of constitutional amendments. However, it only specifies that the proposal can be made by a majority of the total members of the National Assembly or the President, and does not include details on the direction, content, procedures, or methods of constitutional amendments.

For this reason, since the establishment of the current Constitution in 1987, despite numerous political discussions, constitutional amendment proposals have only been submitted to the National Assembly twice. Professor Son In-hyeok of Yonsei University Law School stated, "It is necessary to establish a constitutional basis that mandates the collection of public opinion and participation procedures before proposing constitutional amendments, and to allow for the establishment of organizations to facilitate this."

In the political arena, there have been several legislative attempts to clarify the constitutional amendment procedures. Former Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo proposed measures such as institutionalizing a permanent Constitutional Special Committee in the National Assembly and establishing a Constitutional Amendment National Participation Council composed of constitutional advisory committee members and ordinary citizens, but the related bills were discarded without proper discussion.

In the 22nd National Assembly, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seong-hoe is preparing a Constitutional Amendment Procedures Act. Lawmaker Kim explained, "We have held three discussion sessions on the Constitutional Amendment Procedures Act, and after hearing from constitutional law societies and others, we plan to propose the bill." He added, "The bill under preparation sets the procedure for constitutional amendments to be decided by a national referendum aligned with general elections every four years, and aims for the National Assembly to form a Constitutional Amendment Special Committee to conduct ongoing discussions."

Besides the issue of the Constitutional Amendment Procedures Act, there are other legislative problems related to constitutional amendments. Even if a constitutional amendment proposal passes, problems arise at the national referendum stage. Currently, there is no National Referendum Act governing constitutional amendments. In July 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled that the provisions concerning overseas voters in the National Referendum Act were unconstitutional, but the National Assembly has not amended the related provisions. For ten years, discussions on amendments have taken place, but the National Assembly has repeatedly failed to reach a consensus, resulting in the bills expiring without enactment.