President Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday stressed that "pursuing constitutional amendments partially and in phases, starting with specific issues where sufficient public consensus has been reached, would be the natural course," adding that "bipartisan cooperation is needed to open the door to amendment, even at a feasible level."
Lee made the remarks during a Cabinet meeting that doubled as an emergency economic review session held at the Blue House. "Nearly 40 years have passed since the current constitution was drafted, and all citizens agree on the need for amendments that properly reflect changes in society," he said.
"Looking at specific items, there is no disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties on enshrining the May 18 Democratization Movement and the Busan-Masan Uprising in the constitutional preamble," Lee said. "Even the main opposition People Power Party has explicitly called for their inclusion in the preamble multiple times. There should also be no disagreement on a constitutional revision to tighten the requirements for declaring martial law."
Lee added that "the People Power Party recently expressed remorse regarding martial law, so there appears to be no disagreement on preventing such a state crisis from recurring."
The president said that "strengthening local autonomy is likewise an area with no disagreement, and there is a high possibility of particular interests clashing." He continued, "For issues on which all political forces have explicitly agreed, we can perfectly well carry out constitutional amendments simultaneously with the upcoming local elections."
"I urge all sides to persuade, compromise and debate so that agreement can be reached wherever possible, setting aside political calculations — because the nation's future and the people's lives are far more important than strategic maneuvering," Lee said.