Constitutional Court Rejected Petition Filed By Lawmakers Insisting of Unconstitutionality of President’s Referendum Proposal

On Thursday, five out of nine justices in the Constitutional Court rejected three petitions lodged by the former speaker Lee Man-suk and other lawmakers. In the petition, the lawmakers insisted that the president’s proposal to call a national referendum on his leadership is unconstitutional. Since justices in the Constitutional Court have not reached consensus on the constitutionality of the president’s proposal, we do not know yet whether or not it is unconstitutional for the president to seek a national referendum on his leadership.

If someone’s fundamental rights upheld by the Constitution are violated by an exercise of governmental power, then it is possible to file a petition over it, said the Constitutional Court regarding the reasons for their decision. The court went on to say that the president did not mandate but proposed a national referendum, so it did not have any legal validity. Furthermore, we could not see any governmental authority exercised in the president’s proposal, which failed to meet the conditions of lodging the petition.

Four out of nine justices, however, insisted that the president’s proposal to seek a national referendum not only meets the condition of petition but also is unconstitutional. If the national referendum is eventually taking place as the president proposed, it is highly possible for a similar petition to be lodged. Then, this minority opinion of the Constitutional Court could have a significant impact on the court’s decision of the constitutionality of the referendum.

Four justices including, Kim Young-il, urged that the president’s remarks on the national referendum are beyond a simple proposal and could be seen as exercise of the governmental authority, since he made a bombshell announcement to call for a national referendum in the National Assembly. They added to say that the Article 72, articulating when the national referendum can take place, does not have any clauses for the president to have the right to call a referendum as a way of gauging public opinion about his leadership. Therefore, the president’s proposal is in violation of the constitution.

As for the court’s opinion, the former speaker Lee severely criticized it, saying that it was irresponsible and intensified confusions.

Tae-Hoon Lee jefflee@donga.com