S. Korean parliament chief urges prompt constitutional revision

(ATTN: ADDS politicians' reaction, Assembly deadlock in paras 7-11)
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, July 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's parliamentary speaker urged the
legislature to make haste in amending the country's decades-old Constitution,
which marked its 61st anniversary Friday.

South Korea has long been weighing the issue of revising its Constitution, last
changed 22 years ago. Opinions are split mainly over whether the law should be
amended to allow a president to seek a second term as in the United States, or to
give greater power to the legislature like many European governments, both of
which would result in dramatically changing the nation's power structure.
"I propose immediately setting up a special legislative committee to discuss the
issue of amendment of the Constitution," National Assembly Speaker Kim Hyong-o
said, addressing some 1,500 representatives of the government, judiciary and
foreign embassies attending the Constitution Day ceremony at the National
Assembly.
It would be best to make the amendment before the local elections in June next
year, Kim said.
The South Korean Constitution has been revised nine times since its creation,
mostly to extend the rule of authoritarian governments.
"We have a historic task in front of us. Now is the time to review the law from
the beginning and restructure national bodies so that the Republic of Korea can
stand among the world's advanced countries," Kim said.
While agreeing that the Constitution needs to be amended, the presidential office
and political parties emphasized the issue should be tackled with prudence,
especially considering current political tension over several of President Lee
Myung-bak's reform drives.
"Constitutional revision is, of course, among the issues to be discussed and
reviewed in the parliament," presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said. "But
revision should be approached with prudence and should be based on the people's
full consent."
The ruling Grand National Party's vice floor leader, Kim Jung-hoon, said the
debate should begin "only after the parliament is normalized and ready."
The legislature has been in a limbo since Wednesday with lawmakers from rival
parties occupying the Assembly hall and locking horns over controversial bills on
media cross-ownership and irregular workers.
"The issue should not be used politically," warned Chung Sye-kyun, chairman of
the main opposition Democratic Party. "Proper research should be conducted
beforehand to understand the opinion of the general public and experts."
The late President Roh Moo-hyun had proposed during this term a constitutional
revision largely aimed at replacing the current five-year, single-term
presidential system with a four-year term with eligibility to seek re-election.
While most politicians generally agree that such a revision would enable
presidents to manage state affairs in a more stable manner by matching the
presidential term with the four-year term of lawmakers, Roh's drive failed
largely due to the divided interests of rival parties.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)