Constitutional amendment bill to be tabled on the 7th as ruling party defections loom

An attempt to revise the Constitution for the first time in 39 years has become a political attack tool as it coincides with the June local elections. The broad ruling bloc, which is leading the constitutional revision effort, pressured the People Power Party by calling it part of the "Yoon Again" camp if it opposed the move. The People Power Party pushed back, counterproposing that the Constitution include a clause to block the dismissal of criminal charges against President Lee Jae-myung.
According to political sources on the 4th, the constitutional amendment bill prepared by Speaker of the National Assembly Woo Won-shik and all parties except the People Power Party is scheduled to be introduced at the plenary session of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea on the 7th. To hold a simultaneous Referendum with the June local elections, it must clear the National Assembly by the 10th, but passage is impossible without the cooperation of the People Power Party. In response, the party is putting pressure on its rivals by mocking their declaration of the "anti-Yoon faction," which signaled a break with former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
At a press conference on the 27th of last month, Woo urged the People Power Party to cooperate on the constitutional revision. He asked directly, "Some people have wondered whether the force that dislikes constitutional revision the most is the 'Yoon Again' camp." He added, "There are still claims that the People Power Party leadership is tied to 'Yoon Again.' Is that really the case, Jang Dong-hyuk?" The amendment includes measures to strengthen the National Assembly's checks on a president's declaration of Martial Law. Critics say that if the People Power Party maintains its opposition line, it would amount to an indirect defense of Yoon's Martial Law declaration.
The People Power Party, however, said it has no objection to the content of the amendment. It instead wants the National Assembly Special Committee on Constitutional Revision to be formed after the local elections so that the ruling and opposition parties can reach a consensus. The party says it cannot cooperate with putting a bill it did not take part in drafting to a Referendum alongside the local elections.
The controversy over pressure to dismiss President Lee's charges, which the opposition has raised as a key local election issue, has also been linked to the constitutional revision debate. The Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is pushing ahead with an Investigation of State Administration into allegations of fabricated prosecutions under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, and is also pursuing a Special Prosecutor Act, while strongly pressuring Lee to drop the charges. The People Power Party and the Reform Party have decided to launch a resistance campaign to block it.
In response, People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo publicly proposed that the Constitution clearly state, "Trials of the sitting president and his accomplices may not be suspended or dismissed."
As the constitutional revision has been turned into a tool for political attacks by both sides, the chances of it being realized have fallen. Even so, some defections from the People Power Party are still seen as possible. With the party widely expected to lose the local elections and internal power dynamics likely to shift afterward, some lawmakers may choose to vote according to their own convictions.
uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yun-ho Reporter