Six political parties excluding the People Power Party (PPP) and National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik jointly proposed a constitutional amendment on Tuesday to expand the National Assembly's authority to lift presidential martial law declarations.
The Democratic Party of Korea plans to hold a constitutional referendum simultaneously with the June 3 local elections. However, the PPP opposes the amendment as its official party position, leaving its feasibility uncertain.
Floor leaders from six parties — the Democratic Party of Korea, the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Reform Party, the Progressive Party, the Social Democratic Party and the Basic Income Party — submitted the amendment to the National Assembly's legislation office on Tuesday.
The amendment includes provisions to restrict the conditions under which a president may declare martial law and to expand the National Assembly's authority to lift it. Under the proposed revision, the president would be required to obtain immediate approval from the National Assembly when declaring martial law. A clause was also added stipulating that if approval is not granted within 48 hours or is rejected, the martial law declaration would be immediately deemed invalid. The National Assembly's existing right to "request" the lifting of martial law was also strengthened to a direct right to "revoke" it.
The amendment also adds language to the preamble of the constitution honoring the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising. New expressions related to balanced regional development, such as "bridging gaps between regions," were also included.
President Lee Jae-myung also provided support during his policy address to the National Assembly on Monday, stating, "The constitution needs to be flexibly updated to reflect the circumstances of the times." However, clearing the National Assembly threshold remains difficult. Securing the required two-thirds supermajority would require at least 10 defections from the PPP, which officially opposes the measure.
Currently, Rep. Kim Yong-tae is the only PPP lawmaker who has publicly expressed support for the amendment. Rep. Cho Kyung-tae, who had previously indicated support, has reportedly reversed his position. PPP Floor Leader Song Eon-seok pushed back, saying, "This should be a legislature-led constitutional amendment, not one driven by those in power," adding, "The ruling party's approach of mobilizing satellite parties in the pro-government bloc to pressure the opposition is unacceptable."