Song Young-gil, a candidate for the leadership of the Democratic Party, criticized National Assembly Speaker Jo Jung-sik's statement that 'the re-election of President Lee Jae-myung depends on the choice of the sovereign,' calling it 'inappropriate' and suggesting that it would be difficult to gain agreement within the ruling party.
In an appearance on MBC's News Today on July 29, Song stated, 'Jo's remarks are misleading.' He added, 'President Lee has clearly stated that the current president is not subject to constitutional amendments under Article 128, Section 2 of the Constitution.'
He emphasized, 'We need to complete constitutional amendments, including the inclusion of the May 18 incident, strengthening the conditions for declaring a state of emergency, and relocating the Board of Audit and Inspection to the National Assembly, during President Lee's term. If the issue of presidential re-election is tied to this, how can we expect the opposition to agree?'
Earlier, Jo clarified his comments on Facebook after facing backlash from a press briefing the previous day, stating, 'For constitutional amendments, including restructuring power, there must be agreement among political actors and the choice of the people. I regret that my intentions were misunderstood and led to controversy.'
He also expressed his commitment to working towards constitutional amendments that are agreeable to both ruling and opposition parties and supported by the public, aiming to open a new future for South Korea.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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