President's Constitutional revision bill fails amid lawmaker boycott
- 6 years ago
정부 개헌안 표결...정족수 미달 '투표 불성립'
President Moon Jae-in had proposed a couple of months ago... a revision to Korea's Constitution,... but now that particular plan has fizzled out.
The National Assembly had until today to vote on it, after which, if passed, it would be voted on by the people.
But as widely expected, most lawmakers boycotted today's vote, so the parliamentary speaker declared it invalid.
Kim Min-ji reports.
The fate of the president's proposal for amending the Constitution has been decided.
Opposition parties boycotted the vote during a plenary session on Thursday,... resulting in a lack of a quorum.
Only 114 of the 288 lawmakers in the National Assembly's took part in the vote -- far short of the two-thirds majority required to pass.
"Although the president's proposal has been turned down,... progress is still being made at the National Assembly. The rival parties need to quickly reach an agreement to craft their own proposal. As speaker, I am sorry that a year and half of talks have led to nothing."
Thursday was the legal deadline by which the National Assembly had to vote on the president's proposal... as the Constitution stipulates that a vote be held within 60 days of it being put on a public notice.
President Moon Jae-in submitted his bill back on March 26th.
It entailed changing the current five-year presidency to a four-year term, with the possibility for re-election -- also, promoting decentralization and strengthening basic rights.
The president's submission of a bill was widely seen as a move to pressure parliament into quickly crafting a proposal of its own.
Talks had been underway at the National Assembly to amend the country's 30-year-old Constitution... to better reflect social and economic changes as well as limit the massive powers of the president -- however, progress had been slow amid partisan wrangling.
After the bill was declared void,... the ruling Democratic Party of Korea lashed out at the opposition for not taking part -- placing the blame on them for missing the opportunity to amend the Constitution.
It pointed out that enough time was given to the National Assembly to craft its own proposal,... and that to hold a referendum alongside local elections next month was a promise made to the people.
However, most opposition parties had been against the idea of the president submitting a proposal in the first place,... and had been calling on him to withdraw it.
They claimed there was no point in voting on a bill that will be rejected. Rather, they should use this as a chance to come up with their own version.
The parties added that both the government and the National Assembly should feel equally responsible.
There are concerns that Thursday's outcome could drive a wedge between the rival parties... just days after they agreed to end a nearly two-month impasse.
But with the situation back at square one,... the pressure on lawmakers will no doubt be raised... to see if they keep their p
President Moon Jae-in had proposed a couple of months ago... a revision to Korea's Constitution,... but now that particular plan has fizzled out.
The National Assembly had until today to vote on it, after which, if passed, it would be voted on by the people.
But as widely expected, most lawmakers boycotted today's vote, so the parliamentary speaker declared it invalid.
Kim Min-ji reports.
The fate of the president's proposal for amending the Constitution has been decided.
Opposition parties boycotted the vote during a plenary session on Thursday,... resulting in a lack of a quorum.
Only 114 of the 288 lawmakers in the National Assembly's took part in the vote -- far short of the two-thirds majority required to pass.
"Although the president's proposal has been turned down,... progress is still being made at the National Assembly. The rival parties need to quickly reach an agreement to craft their own proposal. As speaker, I am sorry that a year and half of talks have led to nothing."
Thursday was the legal deadline by which the National Assembly had to vote on the president's proposal... as the Constitution stipulates that a vote be held within 60 days of it being put on a public notice.
President Moon Jae-in submitted his bill back on March 26th.
It entailed changing the current five-year presidency to a four-year term, with the possibility for re-election -- also, promoting decentralization and strengthening basic rights.
The president's submission of a bill was widely seen as a move to pressure parliament into quickly crafting a proposal of its own.
Talks had been underway at the National Assembly to amend the country's 30-year-old Constitution... to better reflect social and economic changes as well as limit the massive powers of the president -- however, progress had been slow amid partisan wrangling.
After the bill was declared void,... the ruling Democratic Party of Korea lashed out at the opposition for not taking part -- placing the blame on them for missing the opportunity to amend the Constitution.
It pointed out that enough time was given to the National Assembly to craft its own proposal,... and that to hold a referendum alongside local elections next month was a promise made to the people.
However, most opposition parties had been against the idea of the president submitting a proposal in the first place,... and had been calling on him to withdraw it.
They claimed there was no point in voting on a bill that will be rejected. Rather, they should use this as a chance to come up with their own version.
The parties added that both the government and the National Assembly should feel equally responsible.
There are concerns that Thursday's outcome could drive a wedge between the rival parties... just days after they agreed to end a nearly two-month impasse.
But with the situation back at square one,... the pressure on lawmakers will no doubt be raised... to see if they keep their p