Constitutional Amendment to Be Pursued as Joint Parliamentary Initiative... Chun Junho: "Speaker and Party Leaders in Agreement to Discuss Amendment"

Meeting Between Speaker and Pro-Amendment Party Leaders Scheduled for the Afternoon of the 19th

Constitutional Amendment Can Be Proposed with Joint Sponsorship of 150 Lawmakers

Junho Chun, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on March 19 proposed submitting a constitutional amendment bill through a "joint sponsorship by lawmakers" without forming a special committee on constitutional reform. As the plan to establish a special committee for constitutional revision to coincide with the June 3 local elections has fallen through, it is expected that the ruling party and its allies will push ahead with the proposal of a constitutional amendment bill.

In an interview with MBC Radio that day, Senior Deputy Floor Leader Chun said, "There is a procedure to proceed through a special committee on constitutional reform, but it has become difficult for the committee to function properly." He added, "There is a way to submit a constitutional amendment bill through joint sponsorship by lawmakers who agree with the constitutional reform." He thus suggested the next steps for the ruling party to take the lead in proposing the amendment.

Junho Chun, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea
Photo by Yonhap News

According to Article 128 of the current Constitution, a constitutional amendment bill may be proposed either by a majority of all members of the National Assembly or by the President. Accordingly, a constitutional amendment bill can be proposed, centered around lawmakers from the ruling party. According to a timeline previously announced by Speaker Woo, the amendment bill must be submitted by April 7 in order for a referendum to be held concurrently with the local elections. Afterward, the bill must be publicly announced for at least 20 days, so considering this schedule, the plenary session vote on the amendment could be expected in the second week of May.

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Chun stated, "This afternoon, there will be a meeting where the Speaker of the National Assembly and representatives of each party who agree with constitutional reform will gather to discuss the matter together," adding, "We will make efforts to propose the amendment bill." Regarding the passage of the amendment, he said, "If we secure at least 195 seats, that would be more than two-thirds of the total," and expressed his expectation that "there is a considerable possibility of obtaining parliamentary consent."

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Chun said, "I believe now is the perfect time for constitutional reform," adding, "Speaker Woo first proposed it, and the President also mentioned it. The grounds for reform put forward are, in fact, parts that the People Power Party had previously agreed with."

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