Lee backs gradual amendment to Constitution

▲ President Lee Jae Myung (L) holds a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (2nd from L) and party leaders ahead of his budget speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 2, 2026. (Yonhap)

Lee-Constitution

Lee backs gradual amendment to Constitution

By Kim Eun-jung

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday voiced support for a gradual amendment to the Constitution, including tightening the requirements for declaring martial law and incorporating the spirit of past pro-democracy movements.

Lee made the remarks during a meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik and leaders of rival parties ahead of his budget speech at parliament.

Last month, Lee instructed the Cabinet to consider a phased, step-by-step constitutional revision, expressing support for Woo's proposal to update the Constitution, last revised in 1987.

"Few would dispute reflecting the spirit of the May 18 (1980) uprising in the Constitution's preamble and tightening the prerequisites for declaring martial law, so these areas are likely to be gain consensus," Lee said.

"If that is the case, I think it would be best to move forward with whatever can be done, even if only partially, within a feasible scope," he added.

While acknowledging that a comprehensive constitutional revision could be difficult due to conflicting interests, Lee stressed the need to update the Constitution to flexibly reflect societal changes, saying the current version is "too outdated."

In response, Woo said the National Assembly plans to submit a revision bill on Friday.

The ruling Democratic Party and five other minor parties last week agreed to pursue a referendum on the constitutional amendment alongside local elections scheduled for June 3. The main opposition People Power Party did not join the move.

A majority of lawmakers is needed to propose a constitutional amendment, while a two-thirds majority is required for passage.

The proposal aims to include the 1980 pro-democracy uprising in Gwangju and the 1979 Busan-Masan pro-democracy protests in the preamble. It currently states that the country inherits the spirit of the April 19 revolution in 1960, which overthrew the South Korea's first president, Rhee Syng-man, over election fraud.

The bill also seeks to tighten the requirements for declaring martial law, requiring the president to obtain parliamentary approval without delay and stipulating that if the National Assembly rejects the declaration or fails to approve it within 48 hours, the martial law will be immediately nullified.

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