SEOUL, March 19 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's government under President Moon Jae-in planned to propose a bill for the revised constitution next week, the presidential Blue House said Monday.
Jin Sung-joon, a senior presidential secretary for political affairs, told a press briefing that Moon had instructed the constitutional amendment bill to be prepared to be put forth on March 26 to the National Assembly.
Moon pledged on his campaign trail last year to revise the constitution, which has never been amended since 1987, to reflect social and political changes for the past three decades.
Moon and the ruling Democratic Party favored the two consecutive four-year terms of presidency from the current single five-year term.
The South Korean president, who took office in May last year, had urged the unicameral parliament to discuss and put forth the bill for the revised constitution, then put it to a referendum on June 13 when local elections are scheduled to be held.
The parliament failed to propose its revision bill as the main opposition Liberty Korea Party objected such a move.
By law, the revised constitution is required to be passed in the unicameral assembly with at least two-thirds consent among the 293 lawmakers, before being put to a referendum. The Liberty Korea Party has only 121 parliamentary seats.
