Gominjeong: "People Power Party, 100% Martial Law Again... Must Not Avoid Constitutional Amendment"

"I Understand the Party Leadership's Stance That Overcoming Internal Conflict Comes First"

Ko Min-jung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "If the People Power Party comes back to power, they will 100% impose martial law again," expressing her position that a constitutional amendment should be considered to prevent the abuse of martial law powers and to improve procedures related to martial law.

On the 20th, on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Ko said, "Recently, Kwon Young-se, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, said, 'If it comes to the day of lifting martial law again, I will not attend the vote to lift martial law,'" adding, "If only the president changes without any change in the number of seats or the situation in the National Assembly, it means they have declared they will impose martial law again for the same reasons." She continued, "There is no guarantee that the next president will definitely be from the Democratic Party," emphasizing, "To prevent incidents like the December 3 martial law from happening again, a constitutional amendment should not be avoided."

Yonhap News

According to Ko, there are currently 61 proposed amendments to the Martial Law Act submitted to the National Assembly. On the 17th, 45 lawmakers from four opposition parties?the Democratic Party, the People's Innovation Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Basic Income Party?held a symposium regarding amendments to the Martial Law Act aimed at preventing abuse of martial law powers and improving related procedures following the December 3 emergency martial law.

Regarding this, Ko explained, "Looking at the branches of the proposed amendments discussed at the symposium, they include provisions requiring the president to obtain consent either before or after imposing martial law to prevent unilateral decisions, and unlike the current system where lifting martial law requires deliberation by the State Council, the amendments propose that martial law be lifted immediately upon approval by the National Assembly." She added, "Ultimately, this is a matter tied to the constitution (constitutional amendment), and while the National Assembly's Defense Committee intends to pass at least the parts not linked to the constitution, we should not be passive about it," stressing, "We must actively pursue even a constitutional amendment."

Regarding the party leadership's stance, including leader Lee Jae-myung, that "overcoming the internal conflict is a priority over constitutional amendment," Ko responded, "I understand. If I were in the leadership, I would have said the same." She said, "Since the front lines could be disrupted, it is right for the party leader and leadership to focus on President Yoon Suk-yeol and ending the internal conflict," but pointed out, "However, just because the leadership does that, others should not do nothing." She also added, "When I was in the leadership, I secretly played the role of the Red Team (a team that intentionally presents opposing opinions within the organization to identify vulnerabilities) by providing multiple options for the leader's decisions," and said, "Now that I am not in the leadership, I am playing that role from outside."

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