National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik proposed on the 6th to conduct a 'constitutional referendum' alongside the early presidential election date set for the removal of former President Yoon Suk-yeol. He emphasized that the leadership of each party is also forming a consensus on constitutional amendments for power structure reforms, such as the 'four-year presidential term system.'
On the afternoon of the same day, Speaker Woo proposed through a 'special address on constitutional amendments' that "a constitutional referendum be held concurrently on the presidential election date."
He emphasized the need to prioritize a focused constitutional amendment addressing 'power structure reforms,' such as the four-year presidential term system. He said, "We should agree on as much as possible within the deadline, but the most challenging power structure reform must be addressed this time." He added, "Any deficiencies can be pursued as a second constitutional amendment alongside next year's local elections."
Speaker Woo noted that "the urgency of constitutional amendments is greater than ever, with public consensus arising from the unconstitutional and illegal state of emergency and the impeachment crisis," and emphasized that "the demand for constitutional amendments is a historic requirement to transform the suffering experienced by the entire nation over the past four months of acute conflict and chaos into an opportunity for a major turnaround for the Republic of Korea."
He also proposed to each party a 'revision of the public referendum law' and the establishment of a 'National Assembly Special Committee for Constitutional Amendments' for the constitutional referendum.
Speaker Woo explained that "the largest procedural obstacle blocking public demand for constitutional amendments is the public referendum law," and that "reforming the public referendum law to establish a legal basis for simultaneous voting with the official election is urgent." He added, "Given the time required for the amendment process, it is urgent to quickly form a special committee to agree on the first minimum amendment proposal."
Speaker Woo stated, "There is a clear public demand for a general direction, and the proposals made by various sectors are sufficient, so I will do my utmost to support the National Assembly Speaker in quickly deriving a constitutional amendment proposal."
He emphasized that at least 38 days are required for a national referendum on the constitutional amendment, thus the launch of the constitutional amendment special committee should be hurried. This is because once the amendment proposal is submitted, it must be announced in the National Assembly for 20 days, and according to the public referendum law, both the referendum date and the proposal must be announced concurrently at least 18 days before the referendum date.
In response to concerns that 'time is tight until the presidential election day,' Speaker Woo emphasized that the public announcement period for the referendum could be shortened through legislative amendments. He said, "The public referendum law states the announcement period as 20 days and 18 days, but in 1987, when the law was established, there were few means to inform the public. However, now information can be immediately disseminated, allowing for adjustments in the timeframe. Thus, we can secure more time. If the political parties agree according to the spirit of the times, it is feasible to derive a consensus on the constitutional amendments within that timeframe."
Regarding the roadmap for deriving the constitutional amendment proposal, he said, "Once the presidential election date is confirmed, we will discuss the timetable accordingly."
Speaker Woo emphasized that there is a consensus among the leadership of both the ruling and opposition parties regarding the proposal to conduct the early presidential election and a constitutional referendum simultaneously. He said, "Before I talked about this, I had discussed it multiple times with the leadership of both parties. There was a consensus on the discussion of constitutional amendments among the leadership of both parties." Regarding specific constitutional amendment plans, he was cautious, saying, "It could be seen as guidelines," while confirming that "there is a very broad consensus among the parties on the four-year term system."
Meanwhile, Speaker Woo dismissed rumors about his candidacy in the early presidential election, stating, "If I talk about the constitutional amendments and then run for president, it would not align with political ethics. My most important task is to fulfill the role of the speaker well and earn public trust."