Lee Jae-myung, the President, and Kim Kyung-soo, candidate for Governor of Gyeongnam. Yonhap News,
Kim Kyung-soo, the candidate for Governor of Gyeongnam from the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his strong support for President Lee Jae-myung’s proposal for a “sequential constitutional amendment,” adding momentum to the constitutional amendment discussions.
On the 5th, Kim stated on his Facebook, “President Lee has made a difficult decision to discuss constitutional amendments during his term,” and added, “As someone who has advocated for the need for constitutional amendments, I warmly welcome this decision and thank him for his resolve.”
Earlier, on the 2nd, President Lee met with Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-shik and the leaders of both ruling and opposition parties, where he suggested, “It would be good to do whatever is possible, even if only partially,” indicating the intent to revise parts of the constitution sequentially in agreed areas.
Kim emphasized the necessity of constitutional amendments to prevent a recurrence of martial law incidents, referencing former President Yoon Seok-yeol’s martial law case. He stated, “There can be no disagreement among the people or between ruling and opposition parties that such incidents must not be repeated,” and stressed, “As our democracy has advanced by thwarting attempts to incite rebellion, our constitution should also advance in line with that spirit.”
Furthermore, he urged the National Assembly to “respond with responsible discussions,” and commented, “The People Power Party, which still holds power with factions complicit in the rebellion, should quickly return to the side of democracy and the constitution.”
Kim proposed strengthening the conditions for declaring martial law, such that martial law is automatically lifted if congressional consent is not obtained, except in actual war situations. He also suggested including the spirits of the May 18 Democratic Uprising and the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising in the constitution’s preamble. He added, “I will actively convey my opinions on any provisions that need to be added or removed to prevent a recurrence of rebellion.”