Constitutional revision

It's not right time to discuss basic law change

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is floating the idea of a constitutional revision after winning a landslide victory in the April 15 general election. It appears to be natural for some DPK lawmakers to start a discussion about how to rewrite the Constitution to better cope with the rapidly changing society, by limiting the president's power and enhancing people's basic rights.

Yet we cannot help but ask the question: Is this the right time to talk about a constitutional amendment? The answer is definitely in the negative. The reason is because the nation's top priority is to contain the COVID-19 pandemic and minimize its devastating effect on the economy. Nevertheless, some lawmakers and lawmakers-elect are trying to raise their voice on drafting a new Constitution.

Their move seems to be gaining traction, especially now after the DPK and its affiliate party gained 180 seats in the 300-member National Assembly in the polls. This may give the impression that the ruling camp is seeking to take the political initiative against the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) and its satellite party which suffered a crushing election defeat, garnering only 103 seats. Yet the DPK is still short of the 200 seats, or two-thirds of the total, which are needed for a constitutional revision.

The DPK's Rep. Song Young-gil has recently stressed the need for a revision aimed at changing the five-year single-term presidency into a two-term one. Lawmaker-elect Lee Yong-sun has raised the idea of introducing pubic land ownership into the Constitution. Another lawmaker-elect Lee Hae-sik has expressed his willingness to sponsor a constitutional amendment to make the central government cede more power to provincial and municipal authorities to boost local autonomy.

Furthermore, the DPK is seeking to put to a vote a revision bill designed to allow people to propose a constitutional amendment. The bill, which was presented to the National Assembly on March 6, was initiated by 25 civic organizations and signed by 148 lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties. DPK floor leader Rep. Lee In-young has proposed that lawmakers of the rival parties vote on the bill at the Assembly by May 9. But it is unclear if the Assembly can convene a last plenary session to deal with the bill because of the UFP's opposition.

Considering the present socioeconomic and political situation, the ruling party had better refrain from railroading the bill through the Assembly. The best option is to have it scrapped without a vote. A potential confrontation between the DPK and the UFP will only deepen partisan struggles and have an adverse effect on the ongoing national effort to battle the pandemic and minimize its economic fallout.

It is not too late to initiate a revision of the Constitution after the coronavirus-triggered crisis is over. A national consensus is also imperative to press ahead with any amendment. The Moon Jae-in administration initiated a revision bill in March 2018. But it failed to get Assembly approval because the opposition parties were against it. An ill-timed discussion could only lead to a failure in the long-sought task of rewriting the Constitution which was adopted after the 1987 pro-democracy movement and is out of touch with a society in the 21st century.