Kim Dong-yeon: "Political Establishment Must Relinquish Privileges for Constitutional Reform to Succeed"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is delivering a congratulatory speech at the National Consensus Constitutional Amendment Civic Hearing held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office on the 4th.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon stated about constitutional amendment, "If we clearly explain how it relates to the people's livelihood issues and politicians relinquish their vested interests to push it forward, it can definitely be achieved."

At the 'Public Consensus Constitutional Amendment Civic Hearing' held on the 4th at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government auditorium, Governor Kim said in his congratulatory speech, "There have been discussions on constitutional amendment in past National Assemblies, but there has been no progress so far. I thought about why that is. There are various reasons, but the first is whether this issue is truly related to the people's livelihood."

He continued, "With the highest suicide rate, the lowest birth rate, climate issues, and economic crises, if the political arena itself does not change and the power structure does not change, thereby showing changes in the economy, industry, society, and education, the people might see constitutional amendment as a distant issue across a foreign river."

Furthermore, he said, "The second is the vested interest issue. All matters including constitutional amendment involving power structure reform and political reform cannot move forward even a step unless those in the political sphere first relinquish their vested interests. I hope we ourselves reflect, introspect, and push forward on how this issue connects to the people's lives and how to relinquish vested interests to accomplish this."

Governor Kim particularly recalled the resolution passed at the Democratic Party's national convention last August, stating, "The Democratic Party will take the lead. Regardless of political calculations or future election outcomes, we will definitely achieve political reform," urging Democratic Party politicians to demonstrate proactive commitment.

The 'Public Consensus Constitutional Amendment Civic Hearing' is an event organized to explore 'feasible constitutional amendment' plans that the public can empathize with. It is jointly hosted by the Advisory Committee on Constitutional Amendment and Political System Improvement under the Speaker of the National Assembly, the Korean Political Science Association, the Korean Public Law Association, and the Korean Constitutional Law Association.

Starting from Gyeonggi Province on this day, the hearings will tour nationwide with sessions in Chuncheon (Gangwon region) on the 14th, Sejong (Chungcheong region) on the 15th, Daegu (Gyeongbuk region) on the 16th, Busan (Gyeongnam region) on the 25th, and Gwangju (Honam and Jeju) on the 26th.

Meanwhile, at the hearing, the enactment of the 'Constitutional Amendment Procedure Act' was discussed to introduce public participation and a continuous and phased constitutional amendment process during the amendment procedure.

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