Prospects of constitutional change during the incumbent administration appear cloudy as the leader of the main opposition party expressed objections to revision of the basic law during President Lee Myung-bak’s tenure.
Sohn Hak-kyu, chairman of the Democratic Party (DP), called the ruling camp's raising the long-standing issue of constitutional revision again, with about two years to go before the expiration of President Lee’s five-year term, a plot to prolong its reigning.
Answering questions at a luncheon meeting hosted by the Kwanhun Club, a fraternity of senior journalists, at the Korea Press Center in Seoul last week, Sohn said it was reasonable to begin inter-party talks on the knotty issue after the inauguration of the next administration in February 2013.
Sohn, a former governor of Gyeonggi Province, proposed that presidential hopefuls clarify their position on the issue and present it as a campaign pledge for the election slated for December 2012.
Sohn, who has called himself the only DP man who is able to win over the ruling Grand National Party’s (GNP) candidate, must have been concerned about the possibility that the launching of full-fledged inter-party talks on power structure may impede his presidential bid.
However, a number of lawmakers, regardless of party affiliation, have called the fourth quarter of this year, during which the National Assembly begins deliberations on the government's budget plan for next year, an appropriate timing to start inter-party talks on the revision.
Rep. Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the GNP’s six-member Supreme Council, set no later than June next year as the self-imposed deadline for the passage of constitutional change during the incumbent government. If things go well, a referendum, asking people yes or no, could take place next year.
The previous Roh Moo-hyun administration scrapped a major proposal to introduce the U.S.-style presidency in 2007, the last year of his tenure, following an inter-party agreement to address the issue during the next government.
Major bone of contention is whether a power-sharing system should be introduced or not.
During the Kwanhun meeting, DP Chairman Sohn opposed the much-talked-about idea of the "emperor-like" president sharing power with others.
If the National Assembly and ministries led by the Office of the Prime Minister play their role under the current system as stipulated in the Constitution, Sohn asserted, the president can share and exert power more properly.
Sohn also objected to the introduction of a parliamentary system of government, saying that should such a scheme be implemented in a country plagued by a severe political divide and chronic regionalism-based politics, partisan strife will intensify.
But he did not hesitate to support a four-year system, which allows the president to seek reelection, to replace the current five-year, single-term presidency.
The single-term scheme which, critics say, tends not only to make a president an early lame duck but also undermine the government’s policy consistency, was adopted more than two decades ago against decades of authoritarian rule by those who took power in a military coup.
However, Rep. Hong and other GNP leaders favored the inception of a presidential power-sharing system.
The maverick, four-term lawmaker said, "Most legislators want the Constitution to be changed in such a way as to ensure power-sharing,” asserting that aspirants might wish that the emperor-like president’s power remain intact.
Rumors have it that mainstreamers within the GNP who are close to President Lee and some senior DP legislators have held behind-the-scenes negotiations on constitutional change to introduce a presidential power-sharing scheme or a combination of presidential and parliamentary systems adopted by France. Under the French system, the president is in charge of diplomatic and defense affairs, while the prime minister oversees administrative affairs.
But it is doubtful whether either a parliamentary scheme or the French model would help ensure political stabilization.
The four-year system which allows the president to seek a second term could be a solution to the problem. Moreover, election of the vice president instead of the prime minister will not only literally fit the presidential system but also help ease regionalism, thus contributing to the promotion of national harmony.