Joo Ho-young "No Giving Up on Constitutional Amendment... President's 4-Year Single Re-election, Abolish Immunity for Lawmakers"

"One Person Must Not Bring Down the Nation"
Five Major Directions for Constitutional Amendment Announced
"We Will Not Give Up Until the Very End"

Joo Ho-young, chairman of the People Power Party's Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment, stated on the 10th, "We will not give up on efforts to amend the current constitution, which has already become obsolete, until the very end." He then announced five major directions for constitutional amendment, prepared through five meetings with constitutional experts.

People Power Party's Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment Chairman, Joo Ho-young, Vice Speaker of the National Assembly, is holding a press conference at his office in Yeouido, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News

Chairman Joo held a press briefing at the National Assembly in the afternoon and said, "The collapse of the entire country due to one person's lust for power can no longer be repeated."

He said, "Democratic Party lawmakers trampled on Speaker Woo Won-shik's earnest request for constitutional amendment," and added, "I felt great self-disgust seeing Speaker Woo officially withdraw his proposal."

He further pointed out, "Democratic Party lawmakers are showing such behavior out of consideration for former party leader and presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung," and said, "Think about what submissive attitude they will show before power when the Lee Jae-myung era comes."

Chairman Joo said, "Former leader Lee has already fallen into the curse of the imperial presidency," and added, "If we fail to amend the constitution this time, no matter who becomes president next, they will not be able to escape the curse of the imperial presidency and the curse of the constitution."

On this day, Chairman Joo presented five major directions for constitutional amendment: ▲ Reduction of the powers of the imperial presidency ▲ Introduction of a four-year renewable presidential term ▲ Ensuring clear neutrality and independence of Supreme Court justices and Constitutional Court justices ▲ Reform of the National Assembly ▲ Softening of the constitutional amendment procedures.

Chairman Joo emphasized that to reduce the powers of the imperial presidency, a decentralized presidential system and a responsible prime minister system should be introduced, and that a four-year renewable presidential term should allow for mid-term evaluation. He also argued that to secure the neutrality and independence of Supreme Court justices and Constitutional Court justices, the recommendation committee should be institutionalized by law and require the approval of at least two-thirds of the National Assembly members.

In particular, he proposed abolishing the parliamentary immunity from arrest and introducing a national legislative initiative and a recall system for lawmakers. Chairman Joo said, "Strict procedures are necessary for national identity and power structure, but constitutional amendments regarding fundamental rights should be made easier when necessary," and added, "I will report these contents to the emergency committee and the party caucus to gain consensus."

Regarding the power to dissolve the legislature, he explained, "It is under consideration as a device to check the abuse of power by the National Assembly," and said they are reviewing which method is appropriate, whether to grant it to the president or prime minister, or to introduce a national recall system where all citizens can demand dissolution.

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