[Anchor]
In this context, Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-shik proposed holding a constitutional amendment referendum simultaneously with the presidential election. There is significant uncertainty about whether it is possible to hold the presidential election, which must occur within 60 days, and the constitutional amendment at the same time.
This is Reporter Park Sara.
[Reporter]
Speaker Woo Won-shik proposed at an emergency press conference that a referendum for constitutional amendments be held simultaneously with the upcoming presidential election.
[Woo Won-shik / Speaker of the National Assembly: We should do as much as we can agree upon within the time frame, but this time we must definitely address the most challenging issue of restructuring power. Any incomplete content can be pursued as a second constitutional amendment along with next year’s local elections.]
The proposal is interpreted as an effort to distribute the power structure, which has so far been concentrated on the president, especially following the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-youl.
For a constitutional amendment, the consent of more than two-thirds of the National Assembly members is required, and it was stated that there is already a consensus among the leadership of each party.
[Woo Won-shik / Speaker of the National Assembly: Before I spoke today, I had several discussions with the leadership of both parties, and the leadership has shared views on the constitutional amendment, leading to such a proposal.]
Speaker Woo urged each party to quickly form a special committee on constitutional amendments for concrete discussions and also mentioned the need to amend the Public Official Election Act to implement the referendum.
However, with the early presidential election just over two months away, it is uncertain whether the schedule will proceed smoothly.
Assuming the presidential election is on June 3, the calculation is that the constitutional amendment proposal should be submitted by mid-to-late April and approved in a plenary session by early May.
This is because the constitutional amendment approved by the National Assembly must be submitted to a referendum within 30 days.
The Democratic Party expressed an open stance toward the constitutional amendment.
[Kim Yoon-duk / Secretary-General of the Democratic Party: There is no opposition or neglect over the constitutional amendment issue. We are always ready for discussions.]
A representative from the People Power Party’s special committee on constitutional amendments also told JTBC that “a constitutional amendment proposal, including the presidential reelection system, has already been prepared,” urging the Democratic Party to quickly engage in discussions.
However, some within the Democratic Party are voicing opposition, saying “ending the internal conflict should come first,” which may pose a stumbling block to the constitutional amendment discussions.
[Video Journalist Shin Seung-kyu, Lee Ji-soo / Video Editing Park Sun-ho / Video Design Lee Jung-hoe]