Korea's 30-year-old Constitution is about to get a major facelift,.... as President
Moon Jae-in's proposal for constitutional revision is set to be submitted to the National
Assembly on Monday.
The revision proposes a four-year, two-term presidency...
replacing the current five-year single term.
It also lowers the legal voting age to 18 from the current 19... and grants more autonomy
to local governments.
And before we go further into talking about the revision bill, let's first listen to what
Cho Kuk, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, said in a media conference
outlining President Moon's proposals on Tuesday.
"The upcoming constitutional amendments must be centered on the people.
The amendments must expand basic rights to guarantee freedom, safety and quality of life,
and broaden the people's rights such as through the expansion of direct democracy."
And to talk to us more about this, Professor Song Se-ryun from Kyung Hee University joins
us in the studio today.
Hello professor.
Great to be here.
1- So, before we get into the details of the revision, let's first talk about why such
a revision to our country's Constitution is needed in the first place and how many revisions
have been made to Korea's Constitution up until now?
2- President Moon's revision bill was outlined over three days starting Tuesday.
What was the reason behind such scheduling?
3- So, in the first of a series of presentations on the revision bill, the presidential office
spoke about the preamble to the new Constitution as well as revisions to enhance basic rights
and the sovereignty of the people.
Tell us more about this.
4- The bill also seeks to reinforce the rights of laborers,... stipulating that workers and
employers will have equal powers in the decision-making process over working conditions.
What changes can we expect on this front?
And before we go on let's listen to what came out of the second part of the government's
presentation on the revision bill,... which focused on elements of the Constitution concerning
the economy and the decentralization of government.
"We must resolve the imbalance between Seoul and its surrounding regions and the rest of
the country.
The growth of the nation must lead to growth for the people.
And to resolve the issue of increasing social inequality, the concept of land as a public
resource that allows special restrictions or obligations to be imposed when necessary
for efficient use and to protect the public nature of land will be stipulated.
People's right to manage and recall their elected representatives and officials must
also be enhanced."
5- What are some of the parts in the revision that talk about strengthening the sovereignty
of the people?
6- And
as we just heard from Mr. Cho Kuk, tell us more about the changes we can expect in regards
to the concept of land as a public resource.
7- The presidential office said there will be a legal basis for the transfer of the capital
city... and local governments will have more autonomy under the new Constitution.
What can we make of this?
And last but not least, let's take a listen to what President Moon had in mind in regards
to reforming the country's current electoral system as well as redistributing power.
"The administrative reforms start by reforming the electoral system.
Therefore, under the constitutional amendment, 18-year-olds will be eligible to vote.
The president's power will be curtailed, while the prime minister and the National Assembly
will be given more power.
Reform of the power structure should respect public sentiment.
Policy sustainability will be ensured by giving presidents the opportunity to seek re-election
by implementing a four-year, two-term presidency."
8- So the president's power will be curtailed,... and there are also a number of changes in
regards to giving more authority to local governments.
Why are such changes to the power of the president and local governments necessary?
9- There's been a lot of attention on the proposed four-year, two-term presidency, and
doing away with the current five-year single-term presidency.
10- There is
still strong opposition within the National Assembly and political parties though.
11- It seems the road to getting this passed and implemented is going to
be rough but
what are the chances of us
seeing
this revision get passed and what other hurdles must it overcome in order
for us
to see the revision
take effect?
Thank
you
for your insight today.
My pleasure.