Candlelight Revolution Part 2: South Korea’s Constitutional Reform
The sovereignty of the Republic of Korea shall reside in the people, and all state authority shall emanate from the people.” – Article 1 of the Republic of Korea Constitution
November 29, 2017 — Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal reposted from International Strategy Center — A democracy is founded upon the consent and power of the people. Its fundamental compact is the constitution which establishes the rules and government that shape and determine the lives of its people. Yet, rarely is a constitution drawn up by them or with their consultation. Rather, it is done by a political regime mediating the interests of the ruling class. The world’s first completely written constitution was established in 1789. To “protect the minority of the opulent against the majority,” it created the United States Senate [1].In 1948, directly after being established as a separate country, the South Korean constitution was similarly written by the ruling class – albeit under the pressure cooker of a popular left that had just finished fighting for independence against the Japanese. The 1960 student revolution and 1987 June democratic uprising expanded democracy within the constitution in much the same way that the U.S. civil rights movement created the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that made real the 15th Amendment.Last year saw another democratic milestone, as for nearly six months candlelight protests of a cumulative 10 million people prodded a timid and reluctant National Assembly and Constitutional Court to impeach and remove a clearly corrupt, abusive and autocratic president.Nearly a year after the first candlelight protest, the former president, Park Geun Hye, remains behind bars, and the new president, Moon Jae-in, fights to expose and remove the rest of the deep-rooted corruption and abuse. With Park in jail, people have demobilized. Yet, despite the news headlines about rooting out corruption and changing government, people’s lives don’t seem to have improved. Thus, there is a growing demand for a constitutional reform to consolidate the gains, demands and spirit of the candlelight protests before this democratic opening closes.While politicians’ publicly support people’s participation, the current constitutional amendment process is driven by a special committee in the National Assembly. The process has stirred rumblings in civil society for a people-led constitutional amendment. People’s participation doesn’t just guarantee amendments reflect popular will but is also an essential education and experience on becoming society’s protagonists, a democracy ruled by people.