Constitutional talks may lose steam

Doubts are growing over whether the National Assembly could hold a referendum on a constitutional revision in tandem with local elections slated for June next year as the Moon Jae-in government pledged.

The National Assembly’s special committee to discuss a constitutional revision announced Wednesday it plans to draft a revision bill by February next year and put it up for a vote in the National Assembly by May, a timeline aimed to call a referendum in June in tandem with the local elections.

But on the same day, main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) Chairman Hong Joon-pyo strongly opposed the roadmap, renewing his call to hold them separately.

“It’s only right to postpone the referendum after the local elections,” he said.

He has expressed concerns that popular sentiment toward the constitutional revision could be influenced by local elections, and also claimed the Assembly needs sufficient time to discuss details of the amendment.

“We should review the broad aspect of the Constitution — from the preamble to the basic rights,” Hong told reporters, Sept. 29. “The current constitution is the one for a divided country. It needs to be altered in preparation for a post-unification era.”

Hong must be concerned his party’s election campaign could lose steam if the constitutional revision becomes the center of public attention, political commentators say. The LKP is expected to launch an all-out offensive on the ruling bloc on security issues as its campaign strategy, amid growing concerns about Pyongyang’s missile provocations.

If the 107-member LKP makes such a position as a party platform, it is unlikely the Assembly will pass a revision bill — which needs the support of two-thirds of the 299 legislators.

Further, the prospect of the legislature following the timetable is murky considering the chasm of opinions between lawmakers of rival parties on the Assembly’s constitutional revision committee.

Over the task of fixing the “imperial” presidential system, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) members support a U.S.-style four-year, two-term presidency, while the opposition members are in favor of a parliamentary cabinet system or a semi-presidential system that empowers the prime minister to take control of domestic affairs.

According to a recent committee report on the main agenda for the constitutional revision, rival party members were on the same page on a mere 29 out of 62 issues.

They agreed on empowering local autonomous bodies, but are poles apart over what should be the extent of their authority.

While the DPK has called for a comprehensive review of the content including basic human rights, conservative opposition parties have mainly focused on limiting presidential power.

Meanwhile, the third-largest opposition People’s Party is sticking to the position of discussing less controversial issues first and expanding topics of the talks gradually.

According to the roadmap, the committee plans to accelerate its discussions and open a process of collecting opinions from government bodies in November after the National Assembly audit.

The committee will devise a final draft of the revision bill by February, propose it after March 15, and go through Assembly voting before May 24.

If the President announces the referendum May 25, the vote will be held June 13, a ballot day for local elections.

“Through the constitutional amendment, we should realize the tasks of redistributing centralized power and boosting basic rights,” National Assembly speaker Chung Sye-kyun, a passionate proponent of constitutional reform, said during a committee meeting Wednesday.

“It is urgent that the Assembly comes up with a revision bill that can be agreed upon and supported by the people.”