S.Korean president vows to amend constitution by June 2018

Source: Xinhua| 2017-05-19 15:40:53|Editor: liuxin
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SEOUL, May 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday vowed to amend the country's constitution by June 2018 when provincial and mayoral elections are set to be held.

Moon made the remarks at a meeting with floor leaders of the five major parties, namely, the ruling Democratic Party, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, the centrist People's Party, the minor conservative Righteous Party and the minor liberal Justice Party.

Citing what Moon said during the meeting, Chung Woo-taik, the whip of the Liberty Korea Party, told reporters that President Moon said he had obsessions to fulfill what he said.

On his campaign trail, Moon pledged to put the constitutional revision to a referendum when the local elections are scheduled for June next year.

Demand has been strong for the amendment of the current constitution, which was introduced in 1987, as it fails to reflect changes having happened in the South Korean society.

Ruling and opposition lawmakers are known to agree on strengthening basic rights and decentralized government power, but controversy remains on the presidential power structure and the election system.

Some argued for the adoption of a two-term four-year presidency, while others favored a parliamentary cabinet system. Currently, a president serves a single five-year tenure.

For a new election system, calls mounted for the introduction of the party-list proportional representation system to more exactly reflect the percentage of votes.

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