National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and six political parties said April 28 they plan to put a constitutional amendment bill to a vote at a May 7 plenary session, alongside the June 3 local elections. The proposal includes adding the spirit of the Bu-Ma Democratic Uprising and the May 18 Democratization Movement to the Constitution’s preamble. They called on the People Power Party to stop what they described as opposition for its own sake and take part in the amendment effort.
Woo and the six parties — the Democratic Party, the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Reform Party, the Progressive Party, the Basic Income Party and the Social Democratic Party — held their third roundtable meeting at the speaker’s office and said they had decided to move the bill at the May 7 session.
They urged the People Power Party to participate in the floor vote. Woo said the party’s call to delay constitutional revision until after the local elections amounted to “opposition for the sake of opposition,” and he asked the party leadership to allow its lawmakers to vote “according to their conscience and convictions” so democracy can be strengthened.
Cheon Jun-ho, acting floor leader of the Democratic Party, said the People Power Party was blocking “a century-long national plan,” and urged it to join the vote and show “genuine remorse” over the insurrection.
The jointly sponsored amendment bill would introduce National Assembly approval for a president’s declaration of martial law, add the spirit of the Bu-Ma Democratic Uprising and the May 18 Democratization Movement to the preamble, and spell out an obligation for balanced regional development.
To pass the National Assembly, a constitutional amendment requires approval from two-thirds of sitting lawmakers. With nine lawmakers having resigned to run for metropolitan mayor and governor posts in the June 3 elections, 191 votes are needed out of 286 seats. Without cooperation from the People Power Party, the amendment cannot pass.
Earlier April 28, Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at a party meeting that the Constitution is an organically connected system and revisions should proceed only after comprehensive discussion. He argued that a hastily pushed amendment ahead of an election should not be pursued.
After the roundtable, Cho Oh-seop, chief of staff to the National Assembly speaker, told reporters the speaker’s office has been in ongoing contact with People Power Party leaders and lawmakers by phone and in person to seek support for the bill. He said some People Power Party lawmakers had responded that there was “no reason to oppose” the amendment, and that further persuasion would continue. He added that the speaker’s office is also seeking a meeting between Woo and Jang Dong-hyeok, the party’s representative.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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