2024-07-17 00:40:47
Ahead of the 76th Constitution Day, there is a political movement to redesignate Constitution Day as a public holiday. July 17 is the day when the Constitution was formulated and promulgated by the Constituent Assembly in 1948. It has been a national holiday since 1949. However, with the implementation of the 40-hour work week in 2005, there were concerns regarding the negative impact of reduced working hours on the economy, and the regulations were revised to become a half-day “non-holiday” national holiday. Among the five major national holidays designated by the government (March 1 Independence Movement Day, Constitution Day, Liberation Day, Founding Day, and Korean Language Day), this is the only one that does not have a day off.
Subsequently, Congress repeatedly proposed amendments to the Public Holidays Act to redefine Constitution Day as a public holiday, but they were repeatedly rejected. Although the bills were introduced before Constitution Day, politicians say they have largely become divorced from the public interest since then.
In the 22nd National Assembly, Democratic Party member Yoon Ho-jung and People Power Party member Na Kyung-won proposed relevant bills, and the government and opposition parties made the same voice for the first time. Public opinion is also in favor of re-designating it as a public holiday. According to a 2017 poll by the polling company Realmeter, the support rate is very high, with 78.4% of people supporting it and 16.3% of people opposing it. Constitutional law experts said they “positively evaluate this development in the political world” and “will pay close attention to developments in Congress.”
On the morning of the 16th, the day before Constitution Day, students at Gwangju Buk-gu Nursery School were making Taichi-shaped handprints. /Reporter Kim Young-geun
◇Constitution Day is also a public holiday in the United States and Japan… South Korea also needs to be re-designated
Dongguk University Emeritus Professor Kim Sang-gyeom said, “Constitution Day is the day when members of the National Assembly who represent the people formulate and promulgate the Constitution, so it is natural to be re-designated as a public holiday. According to the Constitution, it has the same status as the Founding Day.” , but due to political and ideological issues, there is no “Foundation Day” in South Korea. “I have it,” he said. Professor Kim continued, “Nearly advanced countries such as the United States and Japan also designate Constitution Day as a public holiday.” He added, “It is said to be the foundation day and lunar calendar that opened heaven for Tangun.” It is said that the New Year’s holiday is nationwide holiday, so excluding Constitution Day makes no sense.
In the United States, Constitution Day is celebrated on September 17, when the 1787 Constitutional Convention passed a draft constitution beginning with “We the People” in the then capital Philadelphia; in Japan, Constitution Day is celebrated on May 3 when the 1947 Constitution came into effect. This day is designated as a public holiday to commemorate. North Korea also celebrates Constitution Day on December 27, the day on which the “Socialist Constitution” that seriously adopted Kim Il-sung’s Juche ideology was adopted in 1972.
Kyung Hee University professor Heo Young said: “It is a pity that Constitution Day is not a public holiday.” He went on to say: “The formulation of the Constitution is the foundation of the Republic of Korea. There is nothing more important than this. No country will ignore the promulgation of the Constitution. Date. Become the foundation of the country.”
On July 16 last year, the “75th Constitution Day” banner was hung at the National Assembly Building in Yeouido, Seoul. /news1
◇The significance of the Constitution that laid the foundation of the Republic of Korea is disappearing… Constitution Day should be re-established as a public holiday.
“We need an opportunity and a turning point for the public to think more deeply regarding the meaning of the Constitution,” said Jang Young-soo, a professor at Korea University. “If Constitution Day is not a public holiday, the public will do so,” he added, in line with other historical events. It will raise public awareness than the one that inevitably feels less important than Constitution Day.
Lin Zhifeng, a professor at Sogang University, also expressed strong support for redefining Constitution Day as a public holiday. Professor Lin said: “Even if other public holidays are cancelled, Constitution Day must be listed as a public holiday. The Constitution belongs to the country, and not becoming a public holiday on Constitution Day is like showing the world ‘awareness of the significance of the Constitution.'” The promulgation of the Constitution was not enough. “To claim that Constitution Day does not deserve to be designated a public holiday is a disregard for the Constitution, which is the highest and oldest law of the land,” he continued. “It should be redesignated as a public holiday,” he continued. People realize the importance of the Constitution.
On the other hand, lawyer Xinping, who expressed a neutral opinion on the re-designation of Constitution Day as a public holiday, said: “The Constitution is the highest standard of all laws, so we should really pay attention to it.”, but added, “However, the importance of the Constitution It is doubtful that there is a clear correlation with the designation of public holidays. In countries such as Australia, Germany and Switzerland, Constitution Day is a public holiday, as is South Korea.
On October 9, last year’s Hangeul Day, the Taegeuk flag was waved in front of the statue of King Sejong at Gwanghwamun Plaza in Jongno-gu, Seoul. /news1
◇In order to change Constitution Day to a public holiday… How regarding Korean Language Day?
King Sejong declared Hangeul Day (October 9) in Hangeul to be a public holiday from 1949 to 1990, but not from 1991 to 2012. There are many public holidays in October due to the National Founding Day and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays, so this is excluded along with Army Day (October 1). After Hangeul Day was designated as a national holiday in 2005, non-governmental organizations such as the Korean Language Society called for making Hangeul Day a public holiday. In December 2012, amendments to the relevant regulations were passed, and it was changed to a public holiday starting in 2013.
The amendments to the National Holidays Act proposed by Representative Yun Ho-jung and the amendments proposed by Representative Na Kyung-won were submitted to the National Assembly on the 15th and 16th respectively. The legislative purpose of both amendments is that “Constitution Day should be re-designated as a public holiday so that its significance will not disappear” and “the public’s awareness of Constitution Day has declined due to its exclusion from statutory holidays.” Professor Lin Zhifeng said: “This Congress must pass a bill to redefine Constitution Day as a public holiday through agreement between the government and the opposition,” adding: “We will pay close attention to the movements of Congress.”
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