문희상 "개헌은 시대적 과제...여야 결단 촉구"<br /><br />South Korea's National Assembly held a ceremony today... to mark the seventy-first Constitution Day.<br />Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang stressed the importance of public unity,... and the need to revise the country's Constitution to change the presidential system.<br />Kim Min-ji reports.<br />National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang says... amending the Constitution is an imperative task calling on political parties to show more determination.<br />Speaking at an event marking the 71st anniversary of Constitution Day,... the parliamentary speaker stressed that less than a year remains until the 20th National Assembly comes to an end.<br />He lamented the fact that lawmakers have yet to revamp an authoritarian presidential system that people called for an end to,... during the candlelight protests.<br />"At this point, we've missed the golden time to amend the Constitution. If there is no determination from political leaders, we may lose momentum. I ask on the leaders to make an important decision. Constitutional amendment is the task we have at hand."<br />On July 17th, 1948,... South Korea enacted the Constitution,... laying the groundwork for the country's democracy.<br />It was last revised in 1987 after decades of authoritarian rule.<br />That's when the country adopted a direct presidential election system,... and five-year presidential terms.<br />But there has been mounting criticism... that it vested too much executive power in the hands of the President.<br />There were plans to amend the Constitution last year,... but they collapsed as political parties couldn't reach a compromise.<br />Moon implored rival parties to work together,... saying the National Assembly has made no progress on constitutional revision nor reform-related bills... due to habitual stand-offs.<br />"The politics of today is heading toward tension and strife. Public trust in the National Assembly has dropped and their patience has also reached a limit. Even lawmakers are now calling for the need to adopt a recall system to penalize those that don't work. To show that we mean business, talks to revise the Constitution is a must."<br />Noting that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Korea's provisional government,... Moon stressed that the country needs a paradigm shift that can last the next hundred years.<br />He called for the resumption of talks and compromises in the political arena to regain public trust,... as well as finding a breakthrough to establish peace on the peninsula,... and supporting the economy amid growing uncertainties.<br />Kim Min-ji, Arirang News.<br />
