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Hwang Joon-bum

In regards to the controversy over amendment of the Constitution to create a two-term presidential system, President Lee Myung-bak said during his televised discussion Tuesday, “I have continued to study many things regarding amendment of the Constitution since the 17th National Assembly,” and added, “It would not be difficult if the ruling and opposition parties just put their heads together.”

During a televised New Year’s broadcast in the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) audience room entitled “A Dialogue with the President, 2011 Republic of Korea!" the president said, “Regardless of who becomes the next president, we have to [amend the Constitution] because it is not suited to the times. The National Assembly needs to discuss the matter candidly. My argument is that we should do it for the sake of the nation’s future.”

The president’s appearance before the people of South Korea to deliver a strong call for politicians to discuss amending the Constitution comes at a time when strenuous objections have been presented to his pursuit of the amendment at a time when he has two years left in his term. The proposed amendment would change the single five-year presidential term to two four-year terms. As areas for amendment, he pointed not only to the power structure but also to areas such as equal rights between men and women, climate change, and inter-Korean issues. In addition to amendment of the Constitution, he also reiterated the need for revising of the election constituency system and administrative districts.

Analysts say his open reference Tuesday to the need for amendment of the Constitution smacks strongly of an attempt to apply pressure on politicians. In spite of his repeated mention of the subject, the question of the feasibility of such an amendment has been met with considerable skepticism even within the ruling Grand National Party, to say nothing of the opposition. The analysis is that this represents an attempt to keep the embers of the amendment issue burning ahead of a GNP lawmakers’ general meeting on the issue scheduled for immediately after the extended Lunar New Year holiday.

Experts say that with President Lee openly urging discussions on the issue, the debate appears likely to continue for some time among ruling and opposition party politicians. For the time being, the GNP leadership and lawmakers in the Lee Myung-bak faction appear set to focus their energies on generating a consensus toward forming a special National Assembly committee for amendment of the Constitution at the general meeting on Feb. 8 to 10. However, the prospects for such a consensus within the party remain uncertain, with not only the Park Geun-hye faction, but also some Lee faction lawmakers expressing their opposition out of concerns about the timing and motivation for the push.

Cheong Wa Dae advisers are saying that President Lee is conscious of this limitation. During the discussion Tuesday, the president said, “Before any question of feasibility, the right thing is to make it right for the times.”

“President Lee’s idea is to produce a conclusion on the amendment issue, however it transpires, in the same way that the ruling and opposition parties reached a consensus at the last National Assembly,” said a key Cheong Wa Dae official. “Shouldn’t they reach a conclusion one way or another within the first half of the year?” the official added. Experts are taking this to mean that the discussion is an even more important factor than the actual implementation of the amendment.

This, in turn, has led to continued speculation that the president’s decision to expand his initial proposal from 2008, the first year of his presidency, regarding an “amendment of the Constitution limited to the power structure” to also include comprehensive discussions of provisions regarding basic rights is informed by the political motive of trying to gain justification with the very discussion of an amendment while also heading off the weakening of the president’s authority through rallying members of the Lee faction.

Regarding the controversy over the selection of the site for an international science business belt, which he pledged to build in South Chungcheong Province during his presidential campaign, President Lee said that a committee to be formed in April under the Prime Minister’s Office would undertake an equitable selection. When asked whether this meant starting the process from scratch, the president replied, “Basically.”

In response, South Chungcheong Province Governor Ahn Hee-jung held an emergency press conference Tuesday afternoon where he said, “If we have to reexamine matters from square one because it was a statement made with an eye toward votes in the election, doesn’t that mean we have to pretend the 2007 presidential campaign never happened?”

Daejeon Mayor Yum Hong-chul also issued a statement in which he said, “If the president does not solve the problem he created for himself, he will be faced with powerful resistance and judgment from five million Daejeon and Chungcheong residents.”

On the issue of inter-Korean relations, the president said, “Whether it is the six-party talks or inter-Korean talks, North Korea needs to change its approach.”

“I am calling for genuine change from North Korea, and I have a lot of expectations that we have reached a good time for North Korea to make a change,” he added.

When asked if it might be possible to consider an inter-Korean summit if inter-Korean dialogue and the six-party talks take place, the president replied, “I do not deny that. If necessary, we can have a summit meeting as well.”

With regard to the possibility of meeting with the chairpersons of opposition parties, President Lee said, “A new year is beginning, so we should meet at least once.”

Regarding this, Democratic Party Chairman Sohn Hak-kyu said, “If President Lee engages in in-depth conversation with sincerity and an open approach, there is no reason we cannot do it.”

On the issue of the recent sharp increase in housing key deposit prices, the president said, “We are establishing a concrete policy that uses a 2 percent interest rate to get construction companies to build small-scale rental housing.” He added that an announcement would be made in late February.

Democratic Party spokesman Lee Choon-suak said of the televised discussion, “President Lee argued that the issue with personnel appointments is the opposition’s fault, that the crippled operation of the National Assembly stems from a lack of communication between ruling and opposition party chairs, that the amendment of the Constitution in an issue of the Park Geun-hye faction putting party interests first, and that foot-and-mouth disease was caused by the traveling of farmers.”

Spokesman Lee added, “From start to finish, nothing changed in his position that mistakes are all the fault of others and successes are all his own doing.”

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]