Constitutional reform is the true end to the rebellion

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Constitutional reform is the true end to the rebellion

Published: 08 Apr. 2025, 00:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Flags carried by protesters calling for the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol are seen near the National Assembly building on April 4. [KIM JONG-HO]

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party and the front-runner for Korea’s next presidential race, has rejected a proposal to hold an early presidential election alongside a constitutional referendum. The idea, raised by National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, aims to use this political inflection point to modernize the country’s power structure. Lee’s response, however, was unequivocal.

“This is a moment to focus on ending the rebellion,” he said at a party meeting Thursday, referencing the recent constitutional crisis surrounding former President Yoon Suk Yeol. “Advancing democracy is important, but preventing its destruction is more urgent.”

To Lee, a simultaneous vote risks deflecting attention from the alleged abuses of power under Yoon. But this framing ignores both the urgency and the legitimacy of constitutional reform. The two goals — accountability and structural change — need not be at odds.

Speaker Woo is no apologist for authoritarianism. On the day emergency martial law was declared, he forced entry into the National Assembly to convene lawmakers and resist its implementation. That same spirit animates his proposal now: to overhaul a system that has repeatedly enabled presidential overreach.

Critics argue that Lee’s stance, however principled, risks turning reform into a political casualty. Without his support, any amendment is dead on arrival in the National Assembly. And yet, the current structure — created in the shadow of dictatorship nearly four decades ago — has again revealed its flaws. The presidency remains overly concentrated in power, and cycles of political crisis have become tragically predictable.

Lee has also raised procedural objections, pointing to the lack of early voting provisions in the referendum law. But legislative fixes are available, and if the political will exists, they could be implemented in time. To reduce the reform effort to logistical constraints is to sidestep the broader challenge at hand.

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung speaks at a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on April 7. [LIM HYUN-DONG]

The Constitutional Court’s recent ruling made clear that blame for the current dysfunction does not rest solely with one man. The judgment noted that the standoff between Yoon and the Assembly was not the result of a single party’s actions. That acknowledgment should be taken seriously. It implicates not only the former president, but the entire political establishment — including Lee’s party.

The path forward requires more than a change in leadership. It demands a structural shift that limits the potential for future abuses and distributes power more equitably. Reforming the Constitution is not a distraction from democracy’s defense — it is part of it.

If Korea is to move past this crisis with resilience and purpose, it must do more than punish one presidency. It must reimagine the system that allowed this moment to unfold.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.