Ruling party urges passage of referendum act revision
SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday urged opposition parties to quickly pass a revision to the national referendum act seen as a step required to set up a plebiscite on a constitutional revision.
Little progress has been made in parliamentary talks on the revision bill amid partisan squabbles over a set of disputed bills, a controversy surrounding a former financial watchdog chief and an opinion rigging scandal allegedly linked to a ruling party lawmaker.
The DP hopes to pass the bill by Friday, as it believes that the party cannot deliver on its plan to hold a vote on the constitutional amendment at the same time as the June local elections, should the revision not be passed by the deadline.
In 2014, the Constitutional Court ruled a clause in the act unconstitutional based on the grounds that it limits the suffrage of overseas citizens. The court decided to keep it valid until December 2015, but the parliament failed to revise it by that time.
The state election watchdog has said it cannot make a list of eligible voters for a referendum without the revision -- a reason why political watchers called the revision a litmus test of the opposition bloc's will for the constitutional amendment.
The constitutional change requires approval of two-thirds of the 293 lawmakers in the unicameral National Assembly and a majority of voters in a referendum.
"If the (main opposition) Liberty Korea Party continues a parliamentary standoff tomorrow, we will not be able to pass the referendum act revision and lose the rare opportunity for the constitutional amendment," Woo Won-shik, the DP floor leader, said during a party meeting.
Woo Won-shik, the floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, speaks during a party meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 19, 2018. (Yonhap)
"If the party does not want to be held responsible as a force that has deprived citizens of their suffrage or foiled the constitutional revision, it should begin deliberations on the referendum act today," he added.
The main opposition party has boycotted key parliamentary sessions, calling on the DP to accept its demands for a special probe into the online opinion rigging scandal and the passage of a broadcast act change aimed at ensuring the political neutrality of public broadcasters.
Even if the ruling party succeeds in passing the revision to the referendum act, tougher challenges lie ahead.
The rival parties remain poles apart over when and how to alter the Constitution, though they share the need to change it to reflect social and political changes since the basic law was last amended in 1987.
sshluck@yna.co.kr
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