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World|politics|February 2, 2017 / 09:31 AM
Korea moves to curb presidential powers after Park scandal

AKIPRESS.COM - South Korean lawmakers are moving to ensure the nation never again has a leader as powerful as Park Geun-hye, Bloombergreported.

A bipartisan parliamentary committee began meeting in January to rewrite the constitution for the first time since 1987, when mass protests forced a military junta to adopt a direct presidential vote. In recent months, hundreds of thousands of Koreans have hit the streets to call for Park’s removal over an influence-peddling scandal that led to her impeachment.

Suggestions to the committee have included everything from a British-style parliamentary government to France’s system, where the president handles foreign affairs and the prime minister deals with domestic issues. The panel aims to release a proposal in a few months, which would need support from two-thirds of the 300-member parliament and then face a national referendum.

“Proposals vary, but the idea is the same: divide the powers of the president,” said Chun Jung-bae, a former justice minister and People’s Party lawmaker who sits on the committee. “We live in an extraordinary time, and the task of that time is to end the winner-takes-it-all system.”

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