[Anchor]
The People Power Party has officially launched an internal body for constitutional amendment, with veteran opposition figures also stressing the need for constitutional reform daily, signaling the beginning of serious discussions on the matter in the political sphere.
There is also an assessment that Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party who is still distancing himself from the discussion on constitutional amendments, is being ‘encircled’.
This report is by Lee Joon-yeop.
[Reporter]
The People Power Party’s special committee on constitutional amendment has taken its first steps, focusing on the issue of power structure.
There have been opinions such as reducing the power of the president while granting ‘the right to dissolve the National Assembly’, and they have pressured Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung to join the discussions on constitutional amendments.
[Joo Ho-young / Head of the People Power Party’s Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment: We believe that Lee Jae-myung is not participating in the constitutional amendment discussions due to personal considerations and benefits.]
Former National Assembly speakers and former prime ministers from the opposition have also pointed out that the current political system’s issue lies in not taking the spirit of the Constitution seriously, rather than the Constitution itself. They argue that the current extreme chaos is precisely the time to discuss amendments and are calling for discussions to include electoral system reform.
[Jung Sye-kyun / Former Prime Minister: We need to identify the causes of political regression and do whatever we can to remove or heal those causes.]
Even prominent figures from the ruling party and non-Lee Jae-myung factions within the opposition are bringing up constitutional reform, indicating that discussions on constitutional amendments within the political sphere are becoming more serious.
While Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, is maintaining distance by focusing on ending internal strife, the situation of being surrounded by amendment discussions is likely causing him to ponder deeply.
Figures close to Lee are downplaying the current amendment discussions as merely anti-Lee Jae-myung maneuvers. However, there is also a sense that should an early presidential election scenario arise, it would be unavoidable for Leader Lee to present a vision related to constitutional amendments in some direction.
[Jung Sung-ho / Democratic Party Member (last month, MBC Radio ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’): If an early presidential election scenario arises, I believe that both the ruling and opposition parties will announce their positions on constitutional amendments. I think Leader Lee Jae-myung will likely do the same.]
In the political circles, there is pressure on Lee Jae-myung to conclude that this time the frequently discussed and cyclically revisited idea of constitutional amendments must finally bear fruit.
Previously, when running as a presidential candidate, Leader Lee promised a constitutional amendment for a four-year presidential term. There is keen interest in what stance he will take this time.
This was YTN’s Lee Joon-yeop.
Camera work: Lee Sang-eun, Lee Seung-chang
Video editing: Im Jong-moon
Design: Lee Ga-eun
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