Kim Min-seok: Constitutional Amendment to Reflect Public Demand, Prioritizing Livelihoods and Regional Growth

Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok stated in his negotiation bloc keynote speech at the regular National Assembly today (7th) that "while maintaining the procedural spirit of the current Constitution and laws, we will pursue a realistic constitutional amendment that reflects the changes of the times and the demands of the public."

Kim explained, "Including the May 18 Democratization Movement and the Buma Democratic Protest in the preamble of the Constitution will be the starting point for constitutional revision, and the reorganization of the power structure should go as far as the public desires."

He went on to urge, "The People Power Party, which hangs a photograph of former President Kim Young-sam—who punished Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo, eradicated the Hanahoe faction, and established the May 18 movement as the identity of the civilian government—will ultimately have to make a choice," adding, "I hope they complete their historical reflection and join us on the path to constitutional amendment."

Kim emphasized, "We will strengthen solidarity with progressive reform parties, engage in dialogue with center-conservative forces, and accelerate discussions on adjusting the number of seats for negotiation blocs."

Regarding youth policies, he said, "We will strengthen youth policies and jointly address youth issues across party lines," adding, "We will push for the joint participation of youth committee chairs from both the ruling and opposition parties in government meetings related to youth issues."

On political reform, he suggested, "Let us simply start by mixing our seating arrangements in the plenary chamber," asking, "How about sitting in alphabetical order rather than by party?"

He continued, "Party caucuses can be held outside, and confronting each other face-to-face is enough in the standing committees," and asked, "Isn't it worth a try to sit mixed across different parties, cheering each other on, occasionally complaining about our own party members, and becoming serious together?"

Kim stated, "We will not forget that this is a time to thoroughly examine problems and tasks rather than just achievements," adding, "Following prosecution reform, we will pursue police reform."

He added, "We will consider all institutional means to ensure that investigations into violent crimes and crimes against vulnerable social groups are carried out without a single flaw," and "We will pool all our wisdom to check and maximize the efficiency of police investigations, which have emerged as a major power."

Regarding the relationship between the ruling party and the government, he said, "We will establish a creative and horizontal relationship between the party and the government to speak candidly about public sentiment and become a responsible ruling party that provides firm support," adding, "We humbly accept that the time for a strict evaluation of state affairs has arrived, and the party and government will run with a renewed determination."

On livelihood economic issues, Kim explained, "We will prioritize people's livelihoods and promote growth in all regions," adding, "The mega project is a project to revive South Korea by expanding semiconductors, which have been limited to the vicinity of the capital area, nationwide."

Furthermore, he elaborated, "It is a joint product of corporate survival strategy and national development strategy to expand sustainable supply capacity and strengthen the future status of corporations in response to the saturation of the capital area and the explosion of market demand," and "It is a project to revive all regions, starting from Honam and spreading to Chungcheong and Yeongnam."

Regarding the future response fund, he pointed out, "The question is how it will be used for growth, youth, local regions, and talent cultivation," adding, "A sense of community for coexistence is needed along with a sense of being a powerful nation."

On the real estate issue, he emphasized, "We will promote the 3rd-generation new towns at an unprecedented speed so that the public can feel the impact by 2030," adding, "We will stably support various policies and supply plans that the government has pursued, such as rapidly breaking ground on previously announced sites."

He also said, "We will actively consult with the opposition party and the Seoul Metropolitan Government to expand housing supply and foster public discourse on housing policy," and "We will create a ruling-opposition consultative body related to housing policy, and if necessary, continuously and preferentially address it through a livelihood economy consultative body composed of both ruling and opposition parties."

Regarding diplomatic and security issues, Kim mentioned, "Considering that the US and North Korea could achieve a surprise improvement in relations and that North Korea's 'freeze first, resolve later' approach might conceivably be adopted, South Korea must strengthen its independent security capabilities in advance."

He added, "We must also pool our wisdom on whether North Korea's 'two-state theory' can be utilized for peaceful coexistence," and "Based on firm security, we will support the government to actively respond to changes in US-North Korea relations and play a pacemaker role in facilitating US-North Korea dialogue."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.