[Constitutional Amendment, Connecting the Future] Ju Ho-young "Constitutional Amendment, Agreement Possible Within a Day or Two if Fast"

Direction of Constitutional Amendment Delivered by Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly
Constitutional Amendment Should Be Pursued Even If an Early Presidential Election Is Held

"In fact, if it is fast, an agreement can be reached within a day or two."

On the 10th, Joo Ho-young, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, said in an interview with Asia Economy, "(Constitutional amendment) is now just a matter of choice." As the chairman of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment, Deputy Speaker Joo said that if the constitutional amendment focuses on the 'power structure,' the political circle could reach an agreement on a constitution to replace the 1987 system within a short period. The following is a Q&A.

Joo Ho-young, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Chairman of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment, is giving an interview to Asia Economy on the 5th at his office in the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

- There may be a need to hold an early presidential election. Is a constitutional amendment possible?

▲ It depends on the intention of Representative Lee Jae-myung. There was a constitutional amendment signature launching ceremony at Seoul Station, where many former Speakers of the National Assembly and former Prime Ministers from the Democratic Party appeared. The talk of constitutional amendment has been ongoing for 20 years, but each time, those who thought it was disadvantageous for the presidential election opposed it, so it did not happen. Without exception, those people suffered from the 'curse of the constitution' after becoming president. If it is only about the power structure, it can be done in as little as 32 days.

- Some say that the next presidential candidates should promise a constitutional amendment and push it forward. What do you think?

▲ Promises have been made so far, but they were all useless. The pattern of saying they will amend the constitution and then backing down has been repeated. This is the root cause of the failure of Korean politics. The reason why constitutional amendments do not happen and why Korean politics fails are on the same line.

- There is also a view that the People Power Party is using the constitutional amendment as a way to change the political situation. What do you say?

▲ Constitutional amendment affects the entire nation, but it can be good for some and bad for others. However, since the impeachment decision will be made soon, the constitutional amendment discussion cannot be used as a tool for political maneuvering.

Joo Ho-young, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly and Chairman of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment, is giving an interview to Asia Economy on the 5th at his office in the National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

- Why has the constitutional amendment not been achieved so far?

▲ When someone becomes president, they tend not to want to amend the constitution early in their term, and in the latter half of the term, influential candidates opposed it, which was a major reason for the failure of constitutional amendments. Another problem was that too many contentious issues were created. There were too many issues such as what to include in the territorial clause or the preamble, making it difficult to reach an agreement.

- What are the problematic clauses in the 1987 constitutional amendment?

▲ One issue is that presidential powers are too excessive. Also, there is no mechanism to ease conflicts in situations where the opposition party overwhelmingly dominates the National Assembly. Currently, if a law passes, the only extreme confrontation is the exercise of veto power. Does the president currently have the power to dissolve the National Assembly? Depending on the form of power, a detailed system of checks and balances is necessary.

- Some suggest amending at least the martial law-related clauses before the presidential election. What is your view?

▲ I think there is no need to revise the martial law-related clauses. There are countries that are not divided states but have presidential emergency powers. The problem is abuse, not the system itself.

- What is the direction for restructuring the power structure?

▲ Presidential power should be divided between central and local governments, divided within the government, and the National Assembly's powers should also be divided. Within the executive branch, a full responsibility prime minister system or a prime minister elected by the National Assembly can be established.

- There are also many calls to revise the election system.

▲ It would be perfect to restructure the power structure and revise the election system through constitutional amendment. However, interests are complicated. Nevertheless, if the power structure is reformed, it may be easier to reach an agreement on the electoral district system.