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Rival parties to hold negotiations on Constitutional amendment

2018-03-27 2 Dailymotion

South Korea's rival political parties will hold talks from today as they aim to craft a proposal on amending the nation's Constitution.<br />However, concerns linger over the possibility of striking a deal -- as parties remain deeply divided on the breadth of changes that need to be made.<br />Kim Min-ji reports.<br /> <br /> The floor leaders from the country's three major parties are rolling up their sleeves for earnest negotiations from Tuesday to craft a proposal on amending the Constitution.<br />They agreed to make concrete efforts a day earlier -- after President Moon Jae-in submitted his own proposal -- adding extra pressure on the National Assembly for its lack of urgency on the matter.<br /> The three parties will discuss the most contentious areas -- the power structure, electoral system, reform of power organs and timing of a referendum.<br /><br /> The ruling Democratic Party of Korea says it's willing to engage in in-depth discussions with the opposition -- adding that now is the time for the rival parties to put aside their political interests and think only of the people when crafting a proposal.<br />The party also stressed that it's the people's wish to hold a referendum alongside local elections -- and that if they lose this opportunity public interest in the matter could wane.<br /><br /> However, the main opposition Liberty Korea Party remains strongly against holding a referendum in tandem with the local elections in June-- saying the government and ruling bloc is seeking to foster a favorable environment to win votes.<br />The conservative party also said it will cooperate with other opposition parties in order to change the presidential system to give more authority to a prime minister.<br /><br /> The centrist Bareun Mirae Party said that while it would be best to hold a referendum in June -- the content of the amendment is more important than the timing.<br />It also noted that the core of the revision should be changing the power structure to reduce the president's massive powers -- calling on the ruling and main opposition parties to take a responsible stance in negotiations.<br /><br /> Should the parties fail to reach a consensus on a proposal of their own -- they will have to put the president's proposal up for vote in late May.<br />But for it to take effect,... it requires two-thirds backing from the country's 293 lawmakers -- and a majority approval in a referendum.<br /> Eyes will be on the National Assembly over the next month to see whether they can strike a last-minute deal on a proposal of their own.<br />Kim Min-ji, Arirang News. <br />

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