The Constitutional Amendment Clock Is Speeding Up... Kim Min-seok Ponders a "Formula for Unity"

[Financial News] Having been in office for more than a month, Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok has begun working to solve the "formula for unity" surrounding constitutional amendments and political reform. The party plans to draw up a party-level
constitutional amendment proposal by year-end and must negotiate with the People Power Party. It also has to reconcile the differing political reform demands of parties within the broader ruling bloc. With President Lee Jae Myung personally emphasizing unity within the bloc, coordinating roles between the party and the presidential office is another task.

During the Democratic Party's YouTube broadcast "Minty07" on the 21st, Kim Min-seok said of reforming the power structure through a constitutional amendment, "As for a parliamentary system, at least our party is not considering it at all." Regarding a four-year presidential term with the possibility of reelection, however, he said it could be discussed in accordance with public consensus.
"Issues concerning the power structure should proceed according to what the public agrees on and reaches a consensus about," Kim said. "There are various conventional presidential reelection systems, such as a four-year term with the possibility of reelection, and we should proceed according to whatever is agreed upon."
The Democratic Party of Korea plans to draw up its own constitutional amendment proposal by year-end and pursue a national referendum in the first half of next year after consulting with all political parties. Kim proposed including the 5.18 Democratization Movement and the Busan–Masan Uprising in the Constitution's preamble, reforming the power structure, and strengthening fundamental social rights as the main directions for the amendment.
Because approval by at least two-thirds of all members of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea is required to pass a constitutional amendment proposal, negotiations with the People Power Party are essential. Kim believes the opposition should also join the constitutional amendment discussions now that President Lee Jae Myung has made clear that he has no intention of seeking reelection. He said, "Voices have already begun emerging within the People Power Party asking whether discussions should not begin now that the issue of reelection has been settled," adding, "We can resolve this by pursuing each issue and building public consensus."
Reconciling interests within the broader ruling bloc is another challenge. Differences have already emerged over the details of political reform. After Kim proposed lowering the current 20-seat threshold for forming a parliamentary negotiation group to 15 seats, the 12-seat Rebuilding Korea Party (RKP) called for the threshold to be lowered to 10. The Basic Income Party has also raised a separate political reform demand: restricting lawmakers from concurrently serving as Cabinet members, following lawmaker Yong Hye-in's resignation as a nominee for minister of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

Coordination of messages and roles between the party and the presidential office is also intertwined with these issues. The Democratic Party had originally planned to hold an on-site Supreme Council meeting in Jeju Province on the 18th and review regional budgets, but reportedly canceled the plans after President Lee's press conference was scheduled. "We were originally going to hold an on-site Supreme Council meeting in Jeju and review Jeju's budget, but everything was canceled after the president's press conference was scheduled," a party official said.
At the press conference, President Lee emphasized unity within the broader ruling bloc, saying, "We are all pro-Moon Jae-in, pro-Roh Moo-hyun, and pro-Kim Dae-jung, and comrades of Lee Jae Myung." He later also urged supporters to refrain from abusive language, mockery, derogatory labels and hateful expressions.
Rather than immediately presenting detailed plans for the political landscape, Kim is focusing on people's livelihoods and on-the-ground activities. He said on the same day, "From now on, we will focus all our efforts on people's livelihoods, policy and on-the-ground work," and pledged to increase visits to sites across the country. The party had initially considered holding a tea meeting with reporters to mark one month since his inauguration and explain his plans for the political landscape, but postponed it until after Chuseok, partly because it would have followed immediately after President Lee's press conference.
[email protected] Kim Kyung-min and Song Ji-won Reporter