"Constitutional Amendment Reminder"… 'Giant Democratic Party' Foresees Turbulent Constitutional Amendment National Assembly

Lee Hae-chan, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the disbandment ceremony of the Election Countermeasures Committee held at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 17th, delivering a greeting./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] As soon as the general election ended, voices calling for constitutional amendment have emerged from the ruling party. The Blue House already proposed a constitutional amendment two years ago, and the Democratic Party of Korea, which has become a giant party with 180 seats, views the amendment as the completion of the 'Candlelight Revolution.' The 21st National Assembly is expected to experience a surge in constitutional amendment debates.

Woo Hee-jong, co-representative of the Democratic Citizen Party, wrote on his Facebook on the 16th, "The people have chosen stable governance under the Candlelight government, the Moon Jae-in administration," adding, "This support reminds us of the reform tasks such as the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), the national agenda of the Korean Peninsula peace process, as well as the early constitutional amendment discussions of the current administration." The Citizen Party is a satellite party exclusively for proportional representation created by the Democratic Party and is scheduled to merge.

The Democratic Party has far exceeded the majority threshold required to propose a constitutional amendment and has secured seats just 20 short of the 200 needed for approval. Including the Justice Party's 6 seats, the Open Democratic Party's 3 seats formed by former lawmaker Jeong Bong-ju, and independent lawmaker-elect Lee Yong-ho from the People's Party, the progressive bloc can be seen as having 190 seats. If the Democratic Party exerts political power to secure just 10 more seats from the opposition, constitutional amendment could become a reality.

President Moon Jae-in mentioned at the New Year's press conference in January that the 2018 constitutional referendum was canceled, stating, "It is difficult for the president to regain momentum for constitutional amendment. Now it is the National Assembly's responsibility." He added, "Although it may be difficult in the current National Assembly, if constitutional amendment gains support through pledges during the general election period in the next National Assembly, it could be pursued then." The Blue House's constitutional amendment proposal includes a four-year presidential term with one re-election, strengthening the powers of the National Assembly and the Prime Minister, a proportional representation electoral system, decentralization of the Supreme Court Chief Justice's appointment authority, and economic democratization.

The Democratic Party did not explicitly campaign on constitutional amendment in this general election but has indirectly raised the necessity. Lee In-young, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said in an interview with Asia Economy in February, "It is desirable to discuss constitutional amendment within the political landscape created by the general election results," and added, "There is debate about whether the concept of public land ownership exists in the spirit of the constitution, but I believe it does. I hope this can be clarified through constitutional amendment discussions." He also mentioned that topics such as equal pay for equal work to eliminate discrimination against non-regular workers and the principle of land ownership by cultivators (Gyeongja Yujeon) should be addressed in the constitutional amendment.

Hwang Kyo-ahn, former leader of the United Future Party, also expressed his intention to pursue constitutional amendment if victorious in the general election during his New Year's press conference, stating, "What is urgently needed right now is a discussion on how to transform the imperial presidency into a presidency that the people can accept."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.