By Park Yoon-bae
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol has been promising to end the country's "imperial" presidency since he launched his presidential candidacy last year. After winning the March 9 election, he reaffirmed his pledge by announcing a plan to relocate the presidential office from Cheong Wa Dae to a new site in Yongsan, central Seoul.
The plan immediately sparked controversy because he was pushing for it in order to start his work at the new office by his May 10 inauguration. The outgoing Moon Jae-in administration tried to put the brakes on the plan, citing security concerns and budgetary constraints.
However, nothing could force him to annul his decision. He is intent on keeping his campaign promise. Yoon believes Cheong Wa Dae is a symbol of the abuse of presidential power. That's why he wants to end it by moving the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense compound.
In fact, Cheong Wa Dae has long been regarded as a majestic royal palace where previous presidents wielded unchecked power. Nestled in a secluded location at the foothills of Mount Bugak behind Gyeongbokgung Palace in downtown Seoul, the presidential office has been stigmatized due to its past occupants' dictatorial rule and misdeeds.
Now Yoon's plan is gaining momentum after the Moon government approved a 49.6 billion won ($39 million) budget earlier this month to fund the relocation project. I hope the incoming and outgoing administrations will work together closely to put the plan into action in a smooth way.
Yet a mere change of place will not automatically lead to the termination of presidential transgressions. Yoon must first figure out why almost all former presidents wielded their constitutionally mandated power excessively and arbitrarily. Then he needs to work out a detailed action plan to become a democratic, not imperial, president.
Most of all, Yoon should be a president different from his predecessors no matter how difficult it may be. South Korea ended its decades-long military rule in 1987 when a popularly elected president was sworn in under the new Constitution which was adopted following the June 1986 pro-democracy movement.
Yoon can never produce any successful results if he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, who more closely resembled the absolute monarchs of the past. He should not repeat their bad practices of reigning over the people and abusing their power.
All the former presidents promised to be humble, become a servant of the people and protect national interests, at the start of their term. But they soon became arrogant and self-righteous. They also succumbed to the temptation to purge their political opponents so as to tighten their grip on power.
I want to see Yoon learn from the failures made by outgoing President Moon Jae-in, let alone the disgraced former President Park Geun-hye.
Moon has reneged on his promise to create a fair and just society after taking power by taking advantage of the massive candlelit rallies against Park, who was later impeached and imprisoned on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
Yoon should strive to root out corruption among politicians and bureaucrats by using his track record as an anti-corruption prosecutor. Yet he must refrain from using an anti-corruption campaign as a means to purge the core members of the previous government. Instead, he needs to exercise his presidential power in accordance with the Constitution.
Under a presidential system, power is usually concentrated in the hands of a president. South Korea is no exception. It is also true that the country's powerful presidential system has served as a breeding ground for corruption and abuse of power.
For that reason, there have been discussions about revising the Constitution to limit presidential power. Some politicians and legal experts have suggested that the power structure be changed in a way to promote decentralization and ensure democratic checks and balances.
However, it is not easy to push for a constitutional amendment, given partisan differences and a lack of national consensus. So, Yoon needs to take a realistic approach. He must consider sharing power with the prime minister so that he can avoid being an imperial president.
For instance, Yoon can serve as the head of state in charge of diplomacy, defense, security and inter-Korean relations, while the prime minister acts as head of the Cabinet, tasked with dealing with domestic affairs such as the economy, healthcare and welfare, job creation and education.
It is still uncertain whether Yoon is ready to adopt such a power-sharing formula. But he should make strenuous efforts to exercise his power in a restrained and democratic way, if he really wants to bring the era of imperial presidency to an end.
More importantly, Yoon must fully respect the separation of three branches of power ― the legislative, the judicial and the executive. This separation principle is stipulated in the Constitution. Yet, previous administrations have long trampled on the principle, instead, trying to bring the two other branches under its control.
Therefore, Yoon must restore the undermined system of checks and balances. He should treat the National Assembly as the hall of representative democracy, not a rubber stamp, to keep his promise to forge cooperative ties with opposition parties and promote national unity. Only then can he become a president of the people, by the people and for the people.
The author (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times.
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The plan immediately sparked controversy because he was pushing for it in order to start his work at the new office by his May 10 inauguration. The outgoing Moon Jae-in administration tried to put the brakes on the plan, citing security concerns and budgetary constraints.
However, nothing could force him to annul his decision. He is intent on keeping his campaign promise. Yoon believes Cheong Wa Dae is a symbol of the abuse of presidential power. That's why he wants to end it by moving the presidential office to the Ministry of National Defense compound.
In fact, Cheong Wa Dae has long been regarded as a majestic royal palace where previous presidents wielded unchecked power. Nestled in a secluded location at the foothills of Mount Bugak behind Gyeongbokgung Palace in downtown Seoul, the presidential office has been stigmatized due to its past occupants' dictatorial rule and misdeeds.
Now Yoon's plan is gaining momentum after the Moon government approved a 49.6 billion won ($39 million) budget earlier this month to fund the relocation project. I hope the incoming and outgoing administrations will work together closely to put the plan into action in a smooth way.
Yet a mere change of place will not automatically lead to the termination of presidential transgressions. Yoon must first figure out why almost all former presidents wielded their constitutionally mandated power excessively and arbitrarily. Then he needs to work out a detailed action plan to become a democratic, not imperial, president.
Most of all, Yoon should be a president different from his predecessors no matter how difficult it may be. South Korea ended its decades-long military rule in 1987 when a popularly elected president was sworn in under the new Constitution which was adopted following the June 1986 pro-democracy movement.
Yoon can never produce any successful results if he follows in the footsteps of his predecessors, who more closely resembled the absolute monarchs of the past. He should not repeat their bad practices of reigning over the people and abusing their power.
All the former presidents promised to be humble, become a servant of the people and protect national interests, at the start of their term. But they soon became arrogant and self-righteous. They also succumbed to the temptation to purge their political opponents so as to tighten their grip on power.
I want to see Yoon learn from the failures made by outgoing President Moon Jae-in, let alone the disgraced former President Park Geun-hye.
Moon has reneged on his promise to create a fair and just society after taking power by taking advantage of the massive candlelit rallies against Park, who was later impeached and imprisoned on charges of corruption and abuse of power.
Yoon should strive to root out corruption among politicians and bureaucrats by using his track record as an anti-corruption prosecutor. Yet he must refrain from using an anti-corruption campaign as a means to purge the core members of the previous government. Instead, he needs to exercise his presidential power in accordance with the Constitution.
Under a presidential system, power is usually concentrated in the hands of a president. South Korea is no exception. It is also true that the country's powerful presidential system has served as a breeding ground for corruption and abuse of power.
For that reason, there have been discussions about revising the Constitution to limit presidential power. Some politicians and legal experts have suggested that the power structure be changed in a way to promote decentralization and ensure democratic checks and balances.
However, it is not easy to push for a constitutional amendment, given partisan differences and a lack of national consensus. So, Yoon needs to take a realistic approach. He must consider sharing power with the prime minister so that he can avoid being an imperial president.
For instance, Yoon can serve as the head of state in charge of diplomacy, defense, security and inter-Korean relations, while the prime minister acts as head of the Cabinet, tasked with dealing with domestic affairs such as the economy, healthcare and welfare, job creation and education.
It is still uncertain whether Yoon is ready to adopt such a power-sharing formula. But he should make strenuous efforts to exercise his power in a restrained and democratic way, if he really wants to bring the era of imperial presidency to an end.
More importantly, Yoon must fully respect the separation of three branches of power ― the legislative, the judicial and the executive. This separation principle is stipulated in the Constitution. Yet, previous administrations have long trampled on the principle, instead, trying to bring the two other branches under its control.
Therefore, Yoon must restore the undermined system of checks and balances. He should treat the National Assembly as the hall of representative democracy, not a rubber stamp, to keep his promise to forge cooperative ties with opposition parties and promote national unity. Only then can he become a president of the people, by the people and for the people.
The author (byb@koreatimes.co.kr) is the chief editorial writer of The Korea Times.
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