Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-sik on the 7th evaluated that the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party have expressed their willingness to agree on a constitutional amendment for simultaneous voting with the presidential election, and he once again emphasized that the political circle should accelerate the constitutional amendment process.
In a statement released that day, Speaker Woo said, "The leadership of the two negotiating groups in the National Assembly has expressed their position agreeing to a constitutional amendment for simultaneous voting with the presidential election," adding, "Since constitutional amendments should be made with the agreement of political parties, let's hurry to revise the National Referendum Act so that the constitutional amendment can start from this presidential election."
Regarding the constitutional amendment, although the Democratic Party and the People Power Party showed differences in the schedule and content of the initiative, Speaker Woo appears to have expressed a position to promote the constitutional amendment at least to the extent that an agreement can be reached.
Earlier, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, expressed willingness to accept only the constitutional amendment related to the end of martial law during the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly. Lee said, "Regarding the inclusion of the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju Uprising in the preamble of the Constitution or strengthening the conditions for martial law to prevent arbitrary military coups, the People Power Party will not oppose it," adding, "If the National Referendum Act is revised, this constitutional amendment can be processed immediately."
However, regarding constitutional amendments related to the power system, he stated that they should be announced as campaign pledges during the presidential election period and pursued afterward. He said, "Issues such as the four-year single-term presidency, transferring the Board of Audit and Inspection to the National Assembly, and the introduction of a runoff voting system are highly debatable and could intensify disputes, causing national division. Therefore, complex issues should be promised by presidential candidates to the public and implemented as quickly as possible after the election according to their pledges."
On the other hand, the People Power Party revealed its intention to speed up by preparing a constitutional amendment proposal before the presidential election. Kwon Young-se, emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, said, "It is time to change the outdated and ill-fitting 1987 system," explaining, "The People Power Party is forming a special committee on constitutional amendments to prepare its own proposal. We will promote a plan to properly reflect the will of the people and submit the constitutional amendment to a national referendum on the day of the presidential election."
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