By Kim Jong-chan
Political Editor
Only 100 days into President Lee Myung-bak's five-year term, a debate on constitutional change is burgeoning again.
A group of about 40 politicians from the governing and opposition parties held an inaugural seminar on constitutional revision in Seoul last month. They have set a goal of materializing constitutional amendment during the four-year term of the new National Assembly; which began last Friday. At the seminar, Chairman Kang Jae-sup of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) proposed that an ad hoc parliamentary committee be formed this year to tackle the issue.
In fact, a large number of law professors, civil groups and the public as well as politicians have supported amending the basic law.
In retrospect, former President Roh Moo-hyun scrapped plans to change the Constitution last year, following an inter-party agreement to amend it during the next Assembly. Roh's proposal called for, among others, the introduction of a four-year presidency with the possibility of reelection to replace the current five-year single-term presidency.
Most scholars also prefer the American-style four-year presidency, saying that the five-year single-term president tends to make a President an early lame duck. Scholars, who are members of the Korean Constitutional Law Association, have also asked for runoff presidential elections to help the winner get more democratic justification.
GNP floor leader Hong Joon-pyo is a vocal advocate of constitutional reform. Giving a lecture at a college of law in Busan, Hong asserted that the new legislature's foremost task is to materialize constitutional change to meet the possible reunification of the Korean Peninsula. Park Hee-tae, a veteran politician who is a favorite to become GNP chairman, said he believes that next year, President Lee's second year in office, is the right time to begin inter-party talks on the matter.
Lee has yet to clarify his position on the revision. After being elected president last December, Lee said both four-year double-term and five-year single-term presidencies have merits and shortcomings. He believes that change in the power structure should be decided in a careful, prudent manner since it needs a national consensus.
Even if he makes up his mind to change the basic law, he will face difficulties in implementing it as a constitutional revision requires approval by two-thirds or 200 of the 299 lawmakers or more and then a half or more of all votes cast in a referendum. The conservative GNP has 153 seats, 47 short of the quorum to pass the amendment. The liberal opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) has 81 seats, while and an alliance of the ultra-conservative Liberty First Party and the tiny Renewal of Korea Party has a combined 21 seats. The remaining 44 seats are shared by a labor party and independents.
GNP leaders said they think that it is time for the nation, the 13th largest economy in the world, to amend the Constitution since it has remained intact for the past 21 years.
A lot of things have changed. For instance, there is a growing need for the country to address the improvement of people's basic rights, to give more power to parliament as well as overhauling the power system.
Governor Kim Jin-sun of Gangwon Province has recently added one more item to the agenda on constitutional reform. He demanded that more autonomy be given to local governments to accelerate decentralization.
Since its creation in 1948, the Constitution has been revised nine times. The latest revision was made in 1987 as Roh Tae-woo, who was handpicked by former President Chun Doo-hwan as his successor, accepted the opposition's demand for the introduction of direct presidential voting.
The five-year single-term presidency was adopted as Chun took power in a coup in December 1980 following the assassination of President Park Chung-hee in October 1979. Such a single-term scheme may have been inevitable since Park, who also took power in a coup, assumed the presidency for nearly 19 years. His ruling was prolonged through constitutional reform that enabled him to seek a third-term.
President Lee's party is likely to push for revision in the early stages of the new legislature. Former President Roh Moo-hyun had to drop plans to change the power structure as he officially made the proposal in the fifth and last year of his tenure. The then largest opposition, the GNP, rejected the offer, labeling it a plot for the Roh camp, which had seen its support rate plunge to a record low, to turn the tide ahead of the presidential election last December.
It is not too early for Korea to see a President seek reelection.