History of Korea's constitutional amendments

South Korea's first president, Rhee Syng-man, signs the country's very first Constitution in Seoul on Juy 17, 1948. At the time of signing, Rhee was serving as chairman of the State Council of the Korean Provisional Government. Courtesy of National Archives of Korea.

As presidential candidates Lee Jae-myung and Kim Moon-soo unveil proposals to amend the Constitution, public attention is turning to the nation's complex history of constitutional reforms, marked by multiple amendments over the past eight decades.

Since the establishment of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea in 1948, there have been nine amendments, reflecting the many twists and turns of Korean political history and changes in the structure of power. The country has seen several different forms of governance within its presidential system, including periods of direct and indirect elections and experiments with parliamentary systems.

The history of the Korean Constitution dates back to July 17, 1948. Although Korea finally gained liberation from Japan’s 36-year colonial rule in 1945, the domestic and international political landscape remained unstable. As a result, Korea held its first independent general election in May 1948. The National Assembly then drafted and promulgated the Republic of Korea’s first Constitution on July 17, 1948, drawing its founding spirit from the Constitution established by the Korean Provisional Government in 1919.

Key provisions of the original Constitution included a presidential system with a four-year term, with the president elected by the National Assembly, a unicameral legislature, and an economy founded on planned economic principles.

The first constitutional amendment was proposed in 1952 by 123 lawmakers and promulgated on July 7, 1952. Key changes included changing the presidential and vice-presidential elections from indirect to direct elections, switching from a unicameral to a bicameral legislature, and introducing a parliamentary no-confidence vote.

The second constitutional amendment, promulgated in November 1954, was passed to abolish the presidential term limit exclusively for the country’s first president, benefiting only then-President Rhee Syng-man. At the time, the Constitution allowed a four-year presidential term with a single reelection.

When the amendment proposal was initially voted down in the National Assembly, it was controversially passed just two days later by holding a vote without a quorum, sparking public criticism.

Besides the exception for the presidential term, the amendment introduced a national referendum on major issues, abolished the position of prime minister and paved the way for the transition to a free market economy.

A cabinet meeting was held following the passage of a constitutional amendment in Seoul, 1960. Courtesy of National Archives of Korea

The third constitutional amendment, enacted in 1960, marked the only time in Korea’s history that a parliamentary cabinet system was adopted.

The April 19 Revolution of 1960 ended the First Republic under Rhee and led to the establishment of the Second Republic through the third constitutional amendment on June 15 of the same year. Korea’s republics are classified based on major constitutional amendments that substantively alter the form of government.

The key change of the third constitutional amendment was a shift from a presidential system to a parliamentary system to strengthen civil liberties. Additional reforms included ensuring judicial independence by making the chief justice and Supreme Court justices subject to elections, the establishment of the Constitutional Court and the National Election Commission to oversee the constitutionality of legislation and the introduction of direct elections for local governments.

The fourth amendment was promulgated on Nov. 29, 1960, with the aim of punishing those responsible for the anti-democratic actions and fraudulent elections during the Rhee administration.

The Second Republic effectively functioned only from June 15, 1960, to May 18, 1961 — a span of just 11 months. It ended with the May 16 military coup, which marked the beginning of the Third Republic with the fifth amendment, enacted on Dec. 26, 1962.

Key features of the fifth amendment included a return to a presidential system with up to two four-year terms, a unicameral legislature, the abolition of the Constitutional Court, granting the power of judicial review to ordinary courts and the introduction of national referendums for constitutional amendments.

In 1969, the sixth amendment was proposed by 122 lawmakers on Aug. 7 and promulgated on October 21 of the same year.

Major changes included extending the presidential term limit from two to three terms, increasing the maximum number of National Assembly members from 200 to 250, permitting lawmakers to concurrently serve as Cabinet members and strengthening the impeachment requirements for the president.

The seventh amendment was proposed by former President Park Chung-hee in October 1972 and promulgated in December, establishing the Fourth Republic.

Unlike the Third Republic, the new regime abandoned the basic principles of representative democracy and civil liberties. It was widely viewed as an authoritarian system that concentrated power in the presidency. A key change was the creation of the National Conference for Unification, which indirectly elected the president and selected one-third of the National Assembly, further strengthening presidential authority.

The promulgation ceremony of the Constitution of the Fifth Republic is held in Seoul, 1980. Courtesy of National Archives of Korea

After the assassination of President Park Chung-hee on Oct. 26, 1979, which led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, a military coup led by Chun Doo-hwan took place on Dec. 12 that year.

As public demand for democratization grew in the early 1980s, Chun expanded an emergency martial law to apply nationwide on May 17. The following day, the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement began but was brutally suppressed. Later that year, Chun proposed the eighth constitutional amendment, which was promulgated on Oct. 27, 1980, establishing the Fifth Republic.

This was the only amendment enacted without the approval of the legislature, its key provisions included a single seven-year presidential term, indirect presidential elections by an electoral college, granting the National Assembly the right to investigate state affairs, increased privacy rights, and establishing the right to a healthy environment, the pursuit of happiness and fair wages.

After Chun's term ended in 1987, the ninth — and most recent — constitutional amendment was proposed by 261 lawmakers and promulgated in the same year, leading to the establishment of the Sixth Republic.

Major reforms included a single five-year presidential term with direct election by the people, restoration of the National Assembly’s right to conduct state audits, removal of the president’s power to dissolve the National Assembly and reinstatement of the Constitutional Court.

While the Constitution has been amended nine times over the span of less than 40 years, nearly 38 years have passed since the last amendment, an unusually long period of constitutional stability.

Whether Korea will usher in a "Seventh Republic" ultimately depends on what kinds of constitutional amendments will be enacted by the next president, who will begin his term on June 4.