President Park Geun-hye gives her 2017 budget speech at the National Assembly in Seoul on Monday.

President Park Geun-hye on Monday proposed the amendment of the nation’s Constitution, rekindling one of the most controversial political debates.

During her parliamentary speech to call for cooperation in passing the nation’s budget bill for next year, Park pledged to make every effort to achieve the revision before her term ends in February 2018.

“I have reached the conclusion that (I) may no longer delay the discussions on constitutional revision, which was also one of my election pledges,” Park said.

“As of today, I will embrace the people’s call for constitutional amendment as a national political agenda and set up what is needed to achieve this goal.”

The key point of the revision is to change the currently single five-year presidential term which, according to the president, has made it difficult for the government to pursue consistency in policies.

“The single five-year presidential term system, which has been in effect since the 1987 revision, might have suited the democratization movement era in the past, but no longer fits our current situation,” she said.

The state leader’s sudden drive for the basic law reform is a change from her former passive stance on the issue. Park had previously disapproved of any full-fledged talks on the issue, citing more urgent tasks such as economic challenges and North Korea’s military provocations.

Though the revision was one of her core election campaign pledges in 2012, it was the opposition-leaning National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-kyun who rekindled the topic after taking office this year.

Park’s explanation was that the discussion on rewriting the Constitution had to wait until the “right time.”

“I have so far put off the talks on constitutional revision, not only to focus on national security and economic challenges, but also to prevent a further split in public sentiment,” Park said.

“But in order to fundamentally renew the frame of state management, I have judged that it is crucial to set up a mid- and long-term system that may boost our nation into the ranks of advanced countries.”

She also cited the “forthcoming political schedule,” referring to the presidential election slated for December 2017, to urge for speedy progress of the revision.

Considering that a constitutional revision takes at least 110 days from bill submission to actual effectuation, the referendum to ask for the people’s approval is anticipated to be held no later than March-April next year. One of the plausible scenarios is that it will be held along with the April by-election so as to minimize costs.

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae approved of the president’s active involvement in the issue.

“Either the president or the majority of the National Assembly is entitled to call for a constitutional revision, so President Park may directly submit a government-motioned bill,” said Kim Jae-won, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, at a briefing.

He also added that it is bestfor the state leader to steer the discussion as the given talks may be held back when faced by individual political interests.

The ruling conservative Saenuri Party welcomed the president’s gesture, praising her initiative.

“This is the best day since this administration kicked off, as the president took the lead in establishing a decentralized power system,” said Rep. Kim Moo-sung, the party’s former chairman and one of the presidential aspirants for next year’s race.

Kim, who has often stood at odds with the party’s mainstream pro-Park faction, also dismissed the idea that the president may have brought up the issue to divert public attention away from the ongoing corruption scandals involving some of her closest aides.

The opposition camp remained cautious over its stance, approving of the constitution revision in general but expressing doubts on the president’s underlying political intentions.

Moon Jae-in, former chairman and ranking presidential runner of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, said that he will defer his judgment on the president’s speech.

“President Park has so often underlined that the constitutional revision talk will act as a ‘political black hole’ to overshadow all other agendas, especially in the later part of the presidential term when economic revitalization should be prioritized,” Moon told reporters.

“Now that she mentions (the revision), it makes me wonder whether she is in need of such a black hole (to divert the political public’s attention away).”

Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo of the runner-up opposition People’s Party revealed his uneasiness more blatantly.

“My concern is that the president may be attempting to cover up the suspicions involving Woo Byung-woo and Choi Soon-sil,” the presidential aspirant told reporters.

The senior presidential secretary Woo and the daughter of presidential mentor Choi have been at the center of a series of corruption allegations, but Park has so far refrained from directly mentioning their faults.

Ahn also pointed out the irony of Park’s constitutional revision drive, referring to her past opposition to the two-term presidency.

Back in January 2007, when the late former President Roh Moo-hyun spoke of a constitutional amendment based on a four-year, two-term presidency, then-opposition party chief Park called him a “bad president,” accusing him of prioritizing political interests over the people’s happiness.

By Bae Hyun-jung