Last week, a senior Saenuri Party lawmaker raised the possibility of a revision of the Constitution during a media interview, reigniting speculation about changing the current five-year single-term presidency.

Hong Moon-jong, a leading member of the Saenuri Party faction that is closely allied to President Park Geun-hye, said that a semi-presidential system in which a president is responsible for external affairs and a prime minister is responsible for domestic affairs may better ensure continuity in government policies compared to a five-year single-term presidency. Hong even went on to respond positively to a question concerning the possibility of “President Ban Ki-moon and a pro-Park prime minister.”

Although the Blue House distanced itself from Hong, insisting that it is focused on reviving the economy, and another pro-Park legislator quickly dismissed Hong’s remarks as a personal opinion, the timing of his statement and his position within the Saenuri Party lend weight to the possibility that the Park administration may indeed be considering a constitutional revision. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan also raised the possibility of a change to the Constitution.

By comparison, when Saenuri Party chairman Kim Moo-sung, who is not a pro-Park faction member, floated the possibility of a constitutional revision last year, he withdrew his statement the very next day with an apology to Park.

Saenuri Party members not aligned with the pro-Park faction and the majority opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy have characterized the latest statements concerning a constitutional revision as a scheme to prolong the power of Park and the pro-Park faction after the current presidency. Indeed the timing of Hong’s remarks invite such suspicions. Park’s seven meetings with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during her visit to the U.N. in September fueled speculation that Ban may run for president as a Saenuri Party candidate. Park’s statement during a recent Cabinet meeting about choosing “truthful candidates” lent credence to the suggestion that she is out to replace the Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province lawmakers with pro-Park members in next April’s general election.

Comments or remarks about a constitutional revision should not be made off the cuff only to be quickly withdrawn. Nor should they be floated as part of political calculations. A constitutional revision is a fundamental change that will have profound consequences for the nation and its people. As such, any change should be discussed and debated in a transparent manner. Such talks should be conducted in an orderly manner at an official platform. The revision of the Constitution is too grave an issue to be swayed by the vagaries of politics.