National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik pressed People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk to join efforts to advance a constitutional amendment, asking, "Are you trying to waste a chance for constitutional reform that has come only once in 39 years?"
At a press briefing on current affairs held at the National Assembly main building in Yeouido, Seoul, on Thursday, Woo said, "May 7, the deadline for the plenary session to process the 10th constitutional amendment bill, is just 10 days away, but the People Power Party is sticking to its party line opposing the amendment." He added, "What is the real reason the People Power Party opposes the amendment?" Woo criticized the party's stance that it does not oppose constitutional reform itself, saying, "A national referendum on constitutional amendment achieves stable turnout only when held simultaneously with public elections. This is opposition for opposition's sake."
"Some ask whether the force most opposed to constitutional reform is the 'Yoon Again' camp," Woo said. "There are also claims that the People Power Party leadership is still tied to 'Yoon Again.'" He continued, "If the amendment fails because the party blocks it through its party line, the People Power Party must bear full responsibility. Lawmakers should at least be allowed to vote on the amendment on the plenary floor according to their conscience and convictions."
Six parties — the Democratic Party of Korea, the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Progressive Party, the Reform Party, the Social Democratic Party, and the Basic Income Party — jointly proposed a constitutional amendment on the 3rd that would tighten the requirements for declaring martial law and enshrine the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising and the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in the Constitution's preamble.
