South Korean political parties will begin negotiations for a constitutional amendment in earnest this week, seeking to narrow their differences on the procedure and timing, and possibly the draft revision outline, party officials said Sunday.
The parliamentary committee for constitutional reform will begin a three-day session Monday, according to the panel's coordinator, Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the Liberty Korea Party.
Rep. Lee Cheol-woo of the Liberty Korea Party (Yonhap)
"The aim is to propose the constitution revision bill to the Assembly in March and hold a referendum in conjunction with the presidential election in May," he said.
The committee was launched in December amid growing calls to rewrite the Constitution, which critics say fails to embrace social and political changes since the last change in 1987 designed to limit authoritarian rulers from prolonging their presidency.
Three parties, excluding the largest Democratic Party, are accelerating the revision efforts as the presidential election will likely be held May 9 after the Constitutional Court dismissed President Park Geun-hye on Friday.
The minor parties have agreed to revise the current presidential system to a power-sharing structure, in which the president is in charge of diplomacy and security, while the prime minister controls domestic affairs.
Though still differing on details, including the presidential term, the Liberty Korea Party, the People's Party and the Bareun Party seek to rebalance the power that is now concentrated in a single national leader, which is partly blamed for the corruption scandal involving Park.
The parties also concur that the revision should be made before or simultaneously with the presidential election.
The Democratic Party, however, is cautious about the revision debate, which it is concerned would dilute voters' current aspirations for a change of government in the wake of the sweeping scandal that led to the ouster of Park.
The party is closely watching an attempt by two splinter parties -- the People's Party and the Bareun Party -- to form an alliance around the issue of constitutional revision, which may lead to a merger of their campaigns to challenge the current presidential front-runner Moon Jae-in.
The party is seen to favor a shift from the current five-year, one-term presidency to a four-year one that allows for re-election.
It wants the revision to be made after the presidential election.
The three minor parties hold enough lawmakers to put the revision up for a vote at the National Assembly but fall short of meeting the two-thirds support from the 300-seat parliament to pass the bill. (Yonhap)