The main opposition party floor leader on Wednesday renewed calls for constitutional reforms aimed at decreasing the president’s authority over domestic political affairs, a proposal that President Park Geun-hye has refused to even consider.
Rep. Woo Yoon-keun of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy proposed putting the idea to a referendum in the 2016 April parliamentary elections, during a nationally televised speech at the National Assembly.
Constitutional amendments would resolve not only the country’s political problems but also its long-term economic worries, such as fears over deflation and rising debt levels, Woo said.
“Our country is marked by a series of monopolies,” the three-term lawmaker said. “Monopolies are omnipresent in our economy, in politics, and throughout other parts of our society.”
“Our nation’s partisan fights have more often hindered efforts to fix our economy,” he continued. “I trust that revisions to the Constitution will offer a fundamental resolution to the economy.”
Calls to revise the Constitution and thereby limit the president’s powers are decades old. But the NPAD and some members of President Park’s governing Saenuri Party, the dominant parties in Seoul, have reignited the debate in recent months. Woo has likened the office of president to an imperialistic one.
They support forming a parliamentary panel to discuss details of possible reforms such as taking away the president’s right to nominate members of her Cabinet and the Constitutional Court, while giving more authority to the prime minister, a post widely considered to be ceremonial.
Park has refused to discuss the proposals though, saying such debates would divert public attention away from more urgent economic reform plans.
Potential reforms suggested by the president include plugging what her supporters call the “debt-sucking” pension for retired civil servants, implementing a more laissez-faire policy in the labor market, and easing mortgage loan rules to increase home purchases.
Some of these ideas have been dubbed “Choinomics,” after Finance Minister Choi Kyung-hwan, who sponsored many of the plans in his role as a sitting Saenuri Party lawmaker.
South Korean lawmakers are allowed to serve in the Cabinet and in the Assembly simultaneously.
Woo called “Choinomics” a policy failure during his speech.
“The government is asking citizens to take more loans even as household debt levels continue past the 1 quadrillion won ($921 billion) mark.”
South Korea’s household debt stands at 1.06 quadrillion won as of the third quarter of 2014, according to Bank of Korea estimates.
Saenuri Party officials offered a measured response to Woo’s remarks.
“Discussing constitutional reforms could hamper the government’s efforts to revive our economy,” Rep. Park Dae-chul said. “Putting it up to a referendum is a bit too early.”
“There were many parts in Rep. Woo’s speech that deserve careful consideration and debate,” Saenuri Party spokesman Rep. Kim Young-woo said.
“But he seems to have agreed that it’s the economy that requires our attention. I would like to urge our NPAD colleagues to assist us in taking care of related economic bills this session.”
By Jeong Hunny (hj257@heraldcorp.com)
