Kim Min-seok backs constitutional revision, with power restructuring limited to what the public wants

Kim Min-seok used his first address as Democratic Party leader to call for constitutional revision, saying changes to the power structure should go as far as the public wants.

Speaking at the National Assembly on the 7th, Kim said the process should respect the procedural spirit of the current Constitution and laws while reflecting changes in the times and the demands of citizens. He described placing the May 18 Democratic Movement and the Buma Democratic Uprising in the constitutional preamble as the starting point.

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Power-structure reform should go as far as the people want.

Kim challenged the People Power Party to choose whether it would recognize May 18 and inherit the legacy of former President Kim Young-sam, or align itself with what he called a denial of history. He also pledged to strengthen cooperation with progressive reform parties, engage with moderate conservatives and begin discussions on adjusting the number of members required to form a negotiating group.

For the regular parliamentary session, Kim identified passage of a mega-special-zones bill as the top legislative priority. He proposed an eight-way consultative process involving the central and local governments, the National Assembly and local councils, universities and civil society, businesses, and labor as the country pursues projects in semiconductors, artificial-intelligence data centers and physical AI.

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Including May 18 and the Buma Democratic Uprising in the constitutional preamble is the starting point for constitutional revision.

Kim also called for a “creative, horizontal relationship” between the party and the government, continued market reforms after the third revision of the Commercial Act, stronger disclosure rules and the introduction of discovery. He said the Democratic Party would pursue police reform after prosecutorial reform and work with opposition parties and Seoul on housing supply and policy discussions.

At the end of his speech, Kim offered a deliberately modest political reform: lawmakers should sit together in the main chamber alphabetically rather than by party. Party caucus meetings could take place elsewhere, he said, while lawmakers could face one another and exchange views in the chamber.

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Let us simply sit mixed together, starting with the plenary chamber, rather than pursuing grand political reform.