National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik said on the 17th that he would "prepare a 'popular sovereignty constitutional amendment' next year and conclude the 10th constitutional amendment within the current 22nd National Assembly," speaking at a Constitution Day commemoration ceremony held at the National Assembly in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
Specifically, he said, "Let us swiftly launch a constitutional amendment body, gather wisdom through full-scale public deliberation next year." He added, "I will launch a constitutional amendment advisory committee under the direct supervision of the speaker and organize the amendment roadmap and agenda."
Cho also announced plans to build a citizen-participation digital platform called "Everyone's Constitution" and to create a forum for collective intelligence where citizens propose and debate directly. He cited the key contents of the amendment as including the inscription of the spirit of the May 18 Democratization Movement in the constitutional preamble, restrictions on the president's power to declare martial law, restructuring of the power framework, and reform of election management.
He emphasized the need for amendment, saying, "The current 1987 Constitution has sustained our national system and society for nearly 40 years," while adding, "Over the course of a generation, the scale of our society and citizens' awareness of their rights have matured beyond comparison." He continued, "We must complete the long-delayed responsibility of our times through a constitutional amendment that embodies the aspirations of the people and the future of the nation," saying, "Now we must shed the clothes of the past and change into new clothes that prepare for the future."
Cho also officially proposed to North Korea the holding of an inter-Korean parliamentary meeting, saying, "I hope the North responds with a bold reply to the forum for dialogue aimed at humanitarian assistance, reunions of separated families, and further easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula."
