Lee pushes constitutional reform centered on curbing martial law

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung called for a phased constitutional reform, Wednesday, a day before a scheduled National Assembly vote on a ruling party-led bill primarily aimed at toughening conditions for declaring martial law.

Speaking at a weekly Cabinet meeting, the president suggested a step-by-step approach, noting that the decades-old Constitution falls short of meeting today’s level of democracy, while a sweeping overhaul would nonetheless be burdensome.

“Korea has undergone significant changes in political, economic and social aspects, yet the Constitution has remained virtually unchanged for over 40 years,” Lee said, highlighting that it was last revised in 1987.

He compared Korea’s development to a body that has outgrown its clothes, using the metaphor to illustrate how the Constitution no longer fits the country’s realities.

“With the current Constitution, it is difficult to fully guarantee the level of democracy in Korea today, the lives of its people, and the future of the nation … Our body has grown, but the clothes no longer fit — shouldn’t we fix the clothes?” he said.

The president, however, addressed challenges that lie ahead in amending the Constitution, saying, “A full constitutional revision would be too burdensome and conflicting political interests make it difficult to reach an agreement.”

He instead suggested that “rather than postponing everything, we should take a practical approach and do what we can.”

Lee cited the need for a reform drive to prevent a repeat of ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol's illegal martial law declaration in December 2024.

“Who would oppose preventing illegal martial law or strengthening parliamentary oversight?” he said. “Those who oppose such measures could be seen as supporters of illegal martial law.”

The bill led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) pushes to grant the National Assembly stronger powers to approve or lift martial law and enshrine the spirit of landmark pro-democracy movements — such as the 1979 Busan-Masan Uprising and the 1980 Gwangju Pro-Democracy Movement — in the Constitution. The bill does not touch power structure arrangements such as a shift to a four-year renewable presidential term.

If the parliament passes the reform bill by May 10, a referendum for the constitutional amendment can be carried out together with the June 3 local elections.

As the passage of a constitutional amendment requires two-thirds approval from the National Assembly, the DPK would need support from around 10 of the 107 main opposition People Power Party (PPP) lawmakers.

“This is a rare opportunity that has come after a long time,” the president said. “I hope that what all citizens agree on and what the entire political sphere has consistently spoken about in unison can be put into action tomorrow.”

However, PPP reaffirmed its opposition to putting the amendment to a referendum vote. Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said Wednesday that respecting the constitution as it stands matters more than revising its text.

“What is more important than changing constitutional provisions is the attitude of abiding by and respecting the constitutional provisions that are alive today,” he said.