Ruling and Opposition Senior Statesmen United on 'Need for Constitutional Amendment'... "Lee Jae-myung Must Join"

Limits of the 1987 System... Consensus: "Now Is the Right Time for Constitutional Reform"
Chung Unchan: "We Must Adopt a Parliamentary and Multiparty System"
Kim Jongin: "Constitutional Reform Impossible Without Lee Jaemyung's Participation"
Electoral Reform Opinions: "Political Purification Will Follow"

On the 4th, at the National Future Strategy Institute held at the Asia Center of Seoul National University, the political reform discussion forum "National Elders Talk About Constitutional Amendment" was attended by Jeong Dae-cheol, President of the Korea Constitutional Association (from left), Lee Nak-yeon, former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, former Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo, Kang Won-taek, Director of the National Future Strategy Institute, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, former Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok, Kim Hwang-sik, former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, and former Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party Kim Jong-in. Photo by Yonhap News.

Senior statesmen from both ruling and opposition parties who have served as Speaker of the National Assembly and Prime Minister jointly emphasized the necessity of constitutional reform on the 4th. They argued that since the 1987 constitutional system has reached its limits, active discussions on a parliamentary system, a responsible prime minister system, and electoral district reform are needed. The prevailing opinion was that the participation of the Democratic Party and its leader Lee Jae-myung is essential for this.

Former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik stated at the 'Senior Statesmen Discuss Constitutional Reform' forum held at the Asia Center of Seoul National University that "the fact that there has been no truly successful president among all the presidents since the 1987 constitutional system is due to the system itself," emphasizing that "if the system is well designed, people will govern accordingly, and our politics will level up."

Kim said there is a need to change the current presidential system to a parliamentary system. He said, "The parliamentary system is the direction we should take," adding, "(Currently) from the day after the presidential election, the opposition party opposes the president and ruling party on every issue with a 'let's see in five years' attitude, but if we adopt a parliamentary system and reform the electoral system to allocate seats accurately according to party support rates, the problem will be resolved."

Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan also explained, "For our country's political productivity to increase, we need to adopt a cabinet system instead of a presidential system, and a multiparty system instead of a two-party system." Chung pointed out, "People stuck in fixed ideas may argue that a multiparty system will plunge politics into chaos, but then what have the imperial presidential system and two-party system brought to our country's politics?"

Former Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok proposed that the president elected in this year's early presidential election should shorten the term to three years through constitutional reform and hold the 22nd presidential election and the 23rd general election together in 2028.

Park said, "If the leading (presidential) candidate in the polls and the majority party in the National Assembly oppose constitutional reform, it is practically difficult," adding, "(To persuade for constitutional reform) the first term should be only three years to complete the reform, but the path for re-election should be opened. Then, the most likely candidate to win the early presidential election or the majority party in the National Assembly could also agree."

On the 4th, former People Power Party Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in (from left), Lee Nak-yeon, and former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum attended the political reform forum "National Elders Discuss Constitutional Amendment" held at the Asia Center of Seoul National University. Photo by Yonhap News

Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon targeted Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, who is passive about constitutional reform discussions, saying, "Within the political circle, only one person in the Democratic Party is passive about constitutional reform, and the rest all agree to do it," and added, "But I think it would be good to do constitutional reform for that person as well."

Lee said, "In a social tension situation caused by national division, would it be a happy ending for the next president to receive imperial power?" and added, "Rather, even if some authority is relinquished, it seems better to govern in a less tense state."

Former Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party Kim Jong-in also said, "The decisive people to play a role in constitutional reform are the Democratic Party leader and Democratic Party lawmakers," emphasizing, "If these people do not actively participate in constitutional reform, it cannot be achieved."

Kim stressed, "If we miss this opportunity, constitutional reform will be impossible," adding, "After going through impeachment three times, the current power structure system in our country cannot be considered normal. I don't know how the Constitutional Court will rule on President Yoon Seok-youl's impeachment trial, but this should serve as a trigger."

On the 4th, participants are taking a commemorative photo at the political reform forum "National Elders Discuss Constitutional Amendment" held at the Asia Center of Seoul National University. From the left: Kang Won-taek, Director of the National Future Strategy Institute; former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik; former Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo; Jeong Dae-cheol, President of the Korea Constitutional Association; Yoo Hong-rim, President of Seoul National University; former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun; former Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok; former Prime Minister Jeong Un-chan; former Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party Kim Jong-in; Lee Nak-yeon; former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum. Photo by Yonhap News.

There were also many opinions that the electoral system needs to be reformed. The idea is that to resolve the current extreme political polarization, the single-member district system should be changed to a multi-member district system and move toward a multiparty system.

Former Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo proposed a multi-member district system, saying, "If we create 12 electoral districts in Seoul and assume that four members of the National Assembly are elected from each district in a simulation, even if the first party wins a lot, it is not easy to exceed 30 seats, and even if the second party loses a lot, it does not fall below 20 seats," adding, "A coexistence-capable electoral culture will be created."

Former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan also said, "The imperial presidential system and two-party system were suitable for 18th-century America," pointing out, "Today, this system causes uncompromising confrontation between the president and the opposition party, creating a crisis in democracy."

He added, "With a multiparty system, the first party will find it difficult to form a stable cabinet alone, so it will have to form a coalition with two or three smaller parties," and said, "The kind of deadly struggle between two parties like in Korea now will disappear, and I believe it will bring about political purification."

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