With "constitutional amendment" singled out as the No. 1 national agenda item of the Lee Jae-myung administration, the Office for Government Policy Coordination (OPC) has also picked up its pace. The goal is to avoid repeating the mistake of the Moon Jae-in administration, which even submitted a constitutional amendment bill only to be blocked in the National Assembly. The OPC plans to assemble a support body as soon as a special committee on constitutional amendment is formed in the National Assembly to discuss the issue. Unlike in 2018, when the government took the lead in designing the amendment, it is stepping back this time.
According to the government on the 9th, the government body that will handle the first task—constitutional amendment—among the Lee Jae-myung administration's 123 national agenda items is the OPC. During the Moon Jae-in administration, which pushed a constitutional amendment in pursuit of popular sovereignty and regional decentralization, it was also the OPC that shouldered the responsibility among all ministries.
What differs from the past is that the OPC will support the National Assembly, not serve as a government organ driving the process. Seven years ago, the Moon Jae-in administration submitted a constitutional amendment bill centered on changing the presidential system from a single five-year term to a four-year, two-term system. The design was handled by the Special Advisory Committee on the People's Constitution under the Presidential Commission on Policy Planning. Chaired by Chairperson Jeong Hae-gu, a professor at Sungkonghoe University, the committee was a civilian-led body of 32 people, including professors of law, public administration, sociology, and international relations, as well as officials from women's groups, the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, and the Local Autonomy Data Research Institute.
At the time, the OPC launched the Council to Support Constitutional Amendment to assist the Special Advisory Committee on the People's Constitution. Chaired by the Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the council was composed of Vice Ministers of relevant ministries and the Vice Minister of the Korea Legislation Research Institute. The regulation on the composition and operation of the Council to Support Constitutional Amendment, created under the Park Geun-hye administration in 2017, was also operated under the Moon Jae-in administration.
However, the government-led amendment bill produced through this process failed to pass the National Assembly threshold. It was placed on the floor of the National Assembly on May 24, 2018, but was scrapped for failing to meet the quorum after the four opposition parties—the Liberty Korea Party, the Bareunmirae Party, the Party for Democracy and Peace, and the Justice Party—boycotted the vote.
In this round of constitutional discussions, the government plans to hand over the design initiative to the National Assembly. The OPC will back the National Assembly's drafting of an amendment bill. An OPC official said, "After the special committee on constitutional amendment is formed, practical support may be needed during its operation," adding, "If the committee requests a review of a specific plan, we can provide supplementary support through a support body."
Once the National Assembly forms a special committee on constitutional amendment, the OPC is also expected to create a related body. Since the regulation on the composition and operation of the Council to Support Constitutional Amendment remains in force as an administrative rule, it is highly likely to follow it. However, as conflict between the ruling and opposition parties over the Government Organization Act intensifies, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik's plan to launch the special committee by September has already fallen through.
The main agenda items for the amendment include the four-year, two-term system; ▲ inclusion in the preamble of the Constitution of the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy movement; ▲ transfer of the Board of Audit and Inspection to the National Assembly; ▲ limits on the president's veto; and ▲ stronger National Assembly control when emergency decrees and martial law are declared. The details may be adjusted depending on discussions in the special committee on constitutional amendment to be formed in the National Assembly.
For a constitutional amendment bill to pass the National Assembly, at least two-thirds of all members must approve it. The broader pro-ruling camp, including the Democratic Party of Korea, holds 188 seats, so cooperation from the opposition is necessary.
A government official said, "If the government leads the amendment bill (as in the past), lawmakers are sidelined and it revolves mainly around experts (professors)," adding, "This time, since the National Assembly is leading the design of the amendment bill, if a bill is crafted, passage should be easier than before."
Meanwhile, the most contentious issue in the administration's amendment plan is whether the four-year, two-term system would apply to President Lee Jae-myung. On the 18th of last month, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok said during a government question session at a National Assembly plenary meeting that under constitutional principles, the incumbent, President Lee, would not be subject to the four-year, two-term system.