Parliamentary vote on president's constitutional revision bill nullified due to lack of quorum

정부 개헌안 표결...정족수 미달 '투표 불성립'

It's been quite some time since President Moon Jae-in proposed amending the constitution.
The National Assembly had until today to have it ready for the people to decide on the possible revision.
But as widely expected, most lawmakers boycotted the vote, so the parliamentary speaker declared it invalid.
Kim Min-ji has the latest from the domestic political arena.
Null and void -- 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 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. We formed a special parliamentary committee on the matter and held talks for a year and a half. As speaker, I am sorry that it led to nothing."

Thursday was the legal deadline for parliament to vote on the president's proposal... as the Constitution stipulates that a vote be held within 60 days after the bill is put forward.
President Moon Jae-in submitted his proposal on March 26th.
It entailed changing the current five-year presidency to a four-year term that's once renewable, also,... promoting decentralization and strengthening basic rights.

The president's bill was widely seen as a means 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 invalid,... the ruling Democratic Party of Korea lashed out at the opposition for not taking part.
It pointed out that enough time was given to the National Assembly to craft its own proposal,... and that to hold a referendum alongside the local elections in June 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had been against the idea of the president submitting a proposal in the first place and had been called for it to be withdrawn.
They claimed there was no point in voting on a bill that will be rejected -- and rather, should this as a chance to speed up efforts 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 standstill. But with the situation back at square one,... the pressure on lawmakers will no doubt be raised... to see if they keep their promise to come up with a proposal within this year... esp