The speaker of the South Korean National Assembly yesterday proposed revising the constitution to curb presidential powers, citing public support for such a move after former president Yoon Suk-yeol was ousted for declaring martial law.

“I would like to propose to the people that we should now quickly pursue constitutional revision,” South Korean National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik told a news conference. “After going through the unconstitutional and illegal martial law and [then Yoon’s] impeachment, the public consensus on the urgency of constitutional revision is greater than ever.”

He proposed a national referendum on constitutional reform to coincide with the presidential election that must be held within two months of Yoon’s ouster on Friday by the nation’s Constitutional Court.

Photo: Reuters

The court upheld parliament’s impeachment of Yoon for briefly declaring martial law on Dec. 3 last year, sparking South Korea’s worst political crisis in decades.

“The national confusion has come to an end with the Constitutional Court’s ruling, but the potential for destructive conflict surrounding presidential power still exists,” Woo said, adding that many South Koreans want to change the “imperial presidency,” which he called a source of extreme political conflict.

A Gallup Korea opinion survey last month found that 54 percent of people polled support a constitutional revision to fix the presidential system, while 30 percent said it is unnecessary.

Yoon yesterday said that although he had stepped down, he would “always stand by” his supporters, who fought for “freedom and defending sovereignty.”

Acting South Korean President Han Duck-soo and the election commission are considering June 3 for the election, the commission has said.

The constitution was last revised in 1987 to introduce direct presidential elections and a single, five-year term.

In the past few years, presidential candidates from across the political spectrum have supported revisions including giving presidents two four-year terms, but few concrete steps have been taken after new leaders were chosen.

Yoon’s ruling People Power Party is studying possible amendments, and its presidential hopefuls have mentioned barring presidents from seeking more than two four-year terms.