South Korean presidential front runner Lee proposes revising Constitution on martial law
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Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, speaks during 2024 New Year's press conference at National Assembly in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan 31, 2024.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SEOUL - South Korea’s left-wing presidential front runner Lee Jae-myung proposed on May 30 to amend the Constitution to make it more difficult to impose martial law, aiming to prevent political crises like the one that erupted in 2024.
As candidates entered their final stretch before the snap presidential election on June 3, Lee and his Democratic Party urged South Koreans to come out to vote to end the political turmoil that has gripped the country since ousted conservative leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s short-lived martial law declaration in December.
“Our national prestige has fallen, but it (martial law) happens. We have to make that impossible systematically,” Lee told a live-streamed talk show on YouTube.
“Overcoming the insurrection (crisis) is no-brainer. Without it, our country will collapse,” he said, adding that economic growth and unity would be among his other top priorities.
Lee said he would seek to revise the Constitution to strengthen martial law requirements, for instance by not allowing leaders to implement martial law without getting Parliament’s approval within 24 hours.
More South Koreans turned out for early voting on May 30 after reaching record numbers a day earlier.
When early voting ended at 6pm (5pm, Singapore time) on May 30, 34.74 per cent of eligible voters had voted, the second-highest turnout to date.
Lee also said a special prosecutor should investigate the Dec 3 martial law incident to make sure those responsible were punished, although he called for leniency for those in the military who were reluctant to follow orders.
The Democratic Party’s election campaign chair Yoon Yeo-jun said the vote would be an opportunity to set the country right so that the “Yoon Suk Yeol tragedy would never happen again”.
Mr Kim Moon-soo, Lee’s rival candidate from the conservative People Power Party, said he would stop “legislative dictatorship” by Lee’s Democratic Party, which holds a majority in Parliament. REUTERS
