Constitutional Change
Put National Interest Before Partisan Struggles
President Lee Myung-bak's remarks about constitutional revision are likely to activate discussions on how to rewrite the nation's supreme charter. In an interview with the Yonhap News Agency and Kyodo News on Tuesday, Lee said it could be possible to review a change in the nation's power structure. He said it would be difficult to push for an across-the-board change of the whole Constitution, adding it was necessary to confine the issues to political power.
This is the first time for the President to put forward his views on a revision of the Constitution. It seems that Lee wants to reform the leadership structure which has often been criticized for bestowing too much power on the chief executive. One of the shortcomings of the present Constitution, which was amended following the 1987 Pro-Democracy Movement, is a lack of institutions to guarantee democratic checks and balances. Past experiences show that unchecked presidential power has given rise to many problems such as power abuse and corruption.
Lee must have recognized those problems. Furthermore, he certainly intends to take the political initiative by encouraging lawmakers, politicians and scholars to more actively discuss constitutional matters. Lee's move came after National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o announced in July that the Constitution should be revised before the local elections scheduled for June 2010. Rep. Kim of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) also offered to create a bipartisan constitutional amendment committee.
Amending the Constitution must be a hot issue in the political circle. However, it has been slow to gain momentum because the GNP and opposition parties have taken different approaches. In other words, partisan interests have served as a stumbling block to this matter. In this context, Lee's remarks are seen as a ploy to provide bait to both the ruling and opposition camps. He was apparently trying to link restructuring of administrative and electoral districts to constitutional change.
At present, cities and counties around the country are actively seeking to merge to form bigger and more competitive autonomous units to meet challenges at home and abroad in the rapidly-changing 21st century. Currently, voters elect only one lawmaker in each constituency. Lee undoubtedly hopes to allow two or three lawmakers to be elected in each district in some provinces and cities in order to overcome political parochialism. This kind of electoral reform may sound attractive to the GNP and the main opposition Democratic Party, whose power base is in Gyeongsang and Jolla provinces, respectively.
What's important is that the rival parties should go beyond partisan interests and make compromises to work together to create a better Constitution. They also need to build national consensus on what and how to change the nation's basic charter. Last but not least, possible constitutional revision must be made to better promote human rights and democracy as well as bring a brighter future to the country. It should also be pushed to realize the democratic principle of setting up a government of the people, by the people and for the people.