Constitutional Reform Train Starts Rolling... Will It Reach Its Destination?

Speaker and Six Parties Agree on Joint Proposal by April 7

197 Votes Needed for Passage, Only 188 Secured So Far

Constitutional Reform Hinges on People Power Party's Decision... Cho Kyungtae Urges Participation in Discussions

With all parliamentary parties except for the People Power Party agreeing to pursue constitutional revision, momentum is building for Speaker Woo Won-shik's proposal to hold a simultaneous national referendum during the June 3 local elections. However, as the main opposition People Power Party has not joined the initiative, attention is focused on whether the political leadership required to deliver constitutional reform can be demonstrated, given that the process could stall at the National Assembly threshold without their participation.

On March 19, Speaker Woo and the six parliamentary parties—the Democratic Party of Korea, National Innovation Party, Progressive Party, Reform Innovation Party, Basic Income Party, and Social Democratic Party—agreed to submit the constitutional amendment bill as a joint proposal by April 7. The amendment will include provisions to add the 5·18 Democratization Movement and the Busan-Masan Uprising to the preamble of the Constitution, grant the National Assembly the right to approve martial law, and incorporate the principle of balanced national development.

This round of constitutional reform discussions gained momentum after Speaker Woo held an emergency press conference on March 10 to propose concurrent constitutional revision with the local elections. At that time, Speaker Woo called on each party to form a special committee on constitutional revision, advocating for an amendment at a level acceptable to both the ruling and opposition parties. Although the drive for constitutional revision appeared to lose steam when the special committee was not established, political momentum was revived when President Lee Jaemyung stated on March 17 that "it is a reasonable proposal, and it would be good if the government could officially review and organize it."

To achieve a simultaneous constitutional amendment with the local elections, the joint proposal process in the National Assembly must be completed by April 7. After a 20-day public notice period, the bill must be processed at a plenary session between May 4 and May 10, in accordance with Article 15, Paragraph 2 of the National Referendum Act.

As the Democratic Party of Korea, which holds a majority in the Assembly, has decided to pursue constitutional revision, the requirement for proposing the amendment (a majority of registered lawmakers) can be met. However, the key issue is the vote for passage. Article 130, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution requires approval from at least two-thirds (197 out of 295) of all registered lawmakers. Currently, even when combining the seats of parties that support constitutional revision and independent lawmakers, there are only 188 votes, not enough to meet the minimum threshold. As a result, the People Power Party's decision has become crucial.

The People Power Party adopted "opposition to a rushed constitutional amendment" as its official party line at a general meeting of lawmakers the day before. The party maintains that constitutional reform should be discussed separately after the June 3 local elections conclude. At a parliamentary countermeasures meeting on this day, Policy Chief Jeong Jeom-sik of the People Power Party stated, "If necessary, reform should be promoted calmly and responsibly after the local elections." No signs of defection regarding constitutional revision have been observed even among the pro-Kim and pro-Chan factions. Former leader Han Donghoon wrote on social media the day before, "I caution against the Democratic Party administration’s unilateral push for constitutional revision," and insisted that "stopping acts that undermine constitutional order should come first."

Speaker Woo Wonshik is meeting on the 19th in the Speaker's office with floor leaders of six parliamentary parties (Yong Hyein of the Basic Income Party, Yoon Jongoh of the Progressive Party, Han Byungdo of the Democratic Party of Korea, Seo Wangjin of the Party for Justice and Innovation, Chun Haram of the Reform Innovation Party, and Han Changmin of the Social Democratic Party). The People Power Party did not attend. Photo by Yonhap News

However, some in political circles expect the atmosphere may shift once the constitutional reform phase begins. Given the nature of a national referendum held alongside the local elections, there is speculation that the People Power Party might voice support for the amendment, at least to distance itself from any association with illegal martial law.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Cho Kyungtae of the People Power Party called for his party to participate in the constitutional reform discussions via social media on this day. Assemblyman Cho stated, "I hope the People Power Party will actively engage in discussions on a constitutional amendment that aims to enshrine the spirit of the Busan-Masan Democratization Uprising and the 5·18 Democratization Movement in the preamble, grant the National Assembly post-approval authority over martial law, and specify the principle of balanced national development in the section on local autonomy."

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