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Comprehensive reform measures for strengthening and advancing democracy : based on nationwide regional forums held following the 2024 constitutional crisis
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popular sovereignty. The restoration of democra­cy envisioned here is not a simple return to the pre-martial-law state. Rather, based on the di­agnosis that the December 3 rebellion exposed fragile linkages across the statespanning the military, prosecutorial and investigative agencies, intelligence institutions, and local administra­tionsthis proposal seeks a structural response. Built on a four-stage framework of truth-finding, accountability, non-recurrence, and reform, the proposals aims to dismantle the political and social bases of the anti-constitutional forces so that they can no longer exert influence within in­stitutional politics. At the same time, it pursues a qualitative transition toward a democracy that is substantively inclusive of all members of so­cietyincluding sexual and gender minorities, women, and migrants. Accordingly, the foremost responsibility of the newly inaugurated president and government is to carry out reforms that re­store the democratic republic endangered by the December 3 insurrection. The first tasks are the complete termination of the insurrection and the strengthening and advancement of democracy. Especially in the current political landscapeno longer defined asconservative vs. progressive but asconstitutional defenders vs. anti-consti­tutional forcesa so-called firewall norm that establishes a clear break from extremism is es­sential for the survival and development of dem­ocratic republic under the existing constitutional order. Moreover, cognitive fragmentation such as election-fraud narratives cannot be resolved through institutional reform alone; it requires a reconfiguration of learning, dialogue, and delib­eration processes that engage the cognitive sys­tem in which knowledge, emotion, and identity intersect. Accordingly, this proposal advances a comprehensive reform agenda structured around the following four pillars. 2. Key Task Restoring the Soundness of the Constitutional Order and Controlling Emergency Powers (1) Diagnosis: The December 3 insurrection re­vealed the absence of an effective and imme­diate automatic check mechanism to restrain an imperial president who abuses constitution­al emergency powerssuch as martial law and emergency decrees. (2) Objective: To fundamentally prevent the abuse of presidential emergency powers(mar­tial law and emergency authority) and reestab­lish the separation of powers, automatic check mechanismssuch as the automatic convening of the National Assembly, mandatory legislative approval, and expedited review by the Constitu­tional Courtmust be explicitly codified in the Constitution and statutory law 3. Key Task Enhancing Representative­ness and Accountability in the Political System, and Dismantling the Winner-Take­All Structure (1) Diagnosis: Structural vulnerabilities inherent in the highly concentrated presidency and the winner-take-all single-member district system the core arrangements of the 1987 constitution­al orderhave long been identified. These insti­tutions entrench an extreme two-party system, reproduce regionalism, and distort the public opinion. The recurring phenomenon ofone-par­ty dominance in local councils such as Busan and Seoul demonstrates how this winner-take-all model has paralyzed democratic oversight at the level of local governance. (2) Deepening of the Problem: This polarized po­litical structure enablesanti-constitutional forc­es to embed themselves to major parties and 9