President Moon plans to submit amendment on presidential term limits to National Assembly

Posted on : 2018-03-14 17:19 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Proposed constitutional changes would expand individual rights and increase decentralization of power
President Moon Jae-in holds a copy of the draft constitutional amendment alongside Jung Hae-gu
President Moon Jae-in holds a copy of the draft constitutional amendment alongside Jung Hae-gu

On Mar. 13, South Korean President Moon Jae-in was briefed on a draft constitutional amendment proposed by a special advisory committee on constitutional reform, chaired by Jung Hae-gu, that would give presidents up to two consecutive four-year terms, expand individual rights and increase the decentralization of power. After the briefing, Moon said he was planning to submit the draft to the National Assembly himself by Mar. 21 if the ruling and opposition parties prove unable to come up with their own consensus amendment.

Moon has also initiated the official process for simultaneously holding a national referendum on the constitutional amendment bill during the local elections on June 13. Since the National Assembly is required to take action if the president submits a constitutional amendment bill, the debate about revising the constitution at the same time as the local elections, an idea that has been fiercely opposed by the Liberty Korea Party, appears to be entering a new phase.

Moon was briefed at the Blue House on the draft constitutional amendment by the special advisory committee, which is subordinate to a policy planning committee that reports directly to the president. The main amendments in the bill are instituting a four-year presidency with up to two consecutive terms, making the Board of Audit and Inspection an independent body, holding party primaries before the presidential election, adding a provision about the capital, mentioning the May 18 Democratization Movement and other events in the text of the constitution and strengthening individual rights and the decentralization of power.

 chairman of a special advisory committee on constitutional reform
chairman of a special advisory committee on constitutional reform

“After deliberating over the advisory committee’s draft, we will finalize and publish the presidential constitutional amendment bill at an early time,” Moon said during the briefing. Speaking to the National Assembly, Moon said, “If you miss this final chance, I will have no choice but to exercise the constitutional authority bestowed upon me as president to submit my constitutional amendment bill.”

“Counting backward from the local elections, this coming Mar. 21 would be the deadline for the president to submit a constitutional amendment bill. If the National Assembly makes no progress on discussing a constitutional amendment bill because of the stubborn opposition of the Liberty Korea Party, we will have no choice but to submit the bill on Mar. 21,” a senior Blue House official said.

“Voting simultaneously on the local elections and the constitutional amendment in June is both my pledge as president and an opportunity that is unlikely to come again, and [voting on the two matters at the same time] is also a way to save taxpayers’ money,” Moon said, leaning hard on the National Assembly. “If the National Assembly wants to take the lead on constitutional reform, I hope they will not only talk the talk but also walk the walk.”

“Even after the president submits the constitutional amendment bill, if the ruling and opposition parties can come up with a constitutional amendment bill of their own in the National Assembly by Apr. 28, we will withdraw the president’s bill,” said the official, once again urging the National Assembly to reach an agreement. Apr. 28 is the latest that the National Assembly can submit a constitutional amendment bill if the ruling and opposition parties can reach an agreement.

If the constitution is revised to give presidents up to two consecutive four-year terms, Moon emphasized, it would result in the next president and local government heads (who already have four-year turns) having the same term in office starting in 2022. (Moon himself would be eligible for a second term under the conditions of the amendment, though if he loses his re-election campaign, he would be unable to run for president a third time.)

“If a four-year, two-term presidency is adopted at this juncture, the terms of the president and local government heads would be nearly the same. This means that slightly adjusting the terms of the local government heads who are being elected this year would enable us to synchronize the terms of presidents and local government heads starting with the next presidential election,” he said.

“If Moon prepares and submits a government-controlled constitutional amendment bill, it will leave a major stain on the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea,” said Kim Sung-tae, floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party, during a meeting with the floor leaders of two other ruling and opposition parties on the afternoon of Mar. 13.

By Kim Bo-hyeop and Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporters

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