Constitution Is Target of Presidential Aspirants

Presidential hopefuls continue to talk up a constitutional change that would move Korea toward a U.S.-style presidency with a two-term maximum, despite warnings by President Kim Dae-jung against premature political jostling.

The latest to join in is Rep. Hahn Hwa-kap, a member of the Supreme Council who is a core insider of President Kim Dae-jung's Donggyo-dong faction of the ruling Millennium Democratic Party.

During an interview with a major radio network, Mr. Hahn said that he favors such a constitutional change. Though he stressed that the comments were his personal opinion, political watchers are reluctant to take his words at face value. Mr. Hahn's standing in the ruling faction and his relationship to the president raised speculation that he was speaking on behalf of the president. Mr. Hahn denied it.

One senior-ranking ruling party lawmaker described Mr. Hahn's endorsement as having opened the floodgates to let the issue of constitutional revision float onto the political seas. The proposal was aggressively launched by Representatives Rhee In-je and Kim Keun-tae of the Millennium Democratic Party. Both are presidential hopefuls.

Sentiment is growing in the ruling party that the issue should undergo public debate sometime in the summer, to prepare it for passage at the National Assembly's regular September session.

"It is likely that the issue will gain more force at the end of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il's Seoul visit," said a ruling party insider who requested anonymity.

Opposition Leader Lee Hoi-chang complained that the governing lawmakers were stoking the flames of the constitutional change and "sidestepping the public and the economy."

But he faces challenges from key members of his own party. Maverick Representatives Kim Deog-ryong, Park Geun-hye and Lee Bu-young are embracing the idea of constitutional revision as an alternative to regionalism-ridden voting behavior and as a complement to the Korean presidential system.

by Lee Yang-soo