National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik urged ruling and opposition parties on Monday to form a special parliamentary committee on constitutional amendment by March 17, stating that "procedural obstacles to constitutional revision have been removed with the revision of the National Referendum Act."
At an emergency press conference at the National Assembly, Speaker Woo said, "To hold a constitutional amendment referendum simultaneously with the local elections, the amendment bill must be proposed by April 7."
He emphasized that "unlike the National Referendum Act, which had been a legal obstacle due to its invalid status, forming a special committee is a matter of political decision."
"There is overwhelming public consensus that martial law should automatically become void the moment the National Assembly demands its lifting, or immediately if parliamentary approval is not obtained within 48 hours of its declaration," Woo said.
He added that "both ruling and opposition parties promised the public to include the May 18 spirit in the constitutional preamble," and proposed incorporating "the spirit of balanced regional development, taking full advantage of holding the vote on local election day."
"Let us achieve constitutional amendment this time through a phased approach," Woo said. "While the special committee will finalize priority agenda items, we can first review matters where ruling and opposition parties can agree without disagreement and where there is strong public consensus."
Regarding the requirement for approval by two-thirds of National Assembly members (200 or more), Speaker Woo noted, "After the National Referendum Act passed, I discussed this with party leaders and floor leaders. Most parties agree with this proposal, though the People Power Party appears to have some concerns."
He added, "There will be sufficient discussion within the People Power Party on this agenda, and in that sense, the amendment has a high chance of passing."
Park Tae-seo, chief public affairs secretary to the Speaker, said party leadership had phone contact with the Speaker before his Japan visit and met in person afterward to discuss the special committee deadline. "The Speaker seems to have found hopeful signs through his contact with senior figures," Park added.