文의장 제헌70돌 경축사..."개헌은 국민의 명령"

Today Koreans celebrate the 70th anniversary of the nation's Constitution.
A special ceremony to mark the occasion was held in Parliament earlier this morning.
Choi Si-young has the highlights from the event, attended by top lawmakers across the aisle and senior government officials.
"The reason we have to amend the constitution today is not because years have gone by. It's because the people demand it. The National Assembly must answer the call. By carrying out the people's demand to amend the constitution, we march forward to a whole new Korea, complete the candlelight revolution and restore people's trust."

Delivering a speech on the 70th anniversary of Constitution Day, National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang stressed the need to amend the constitution.
He said he will bring the National Assembly together to reach an agreed framework for the amendment by this year.

The speaker said that political awareness has reached another level of maturity. He said time is more than ripe to "shed old clothes and change to new ones."

He added that the current constitution, which was last amended in 1987, has served its mission of embedding the direct presidential system in the nation,... but the current power structure places too much authority on the president and invites habitual political standoffs.

Speaker Moon said that the more people learn about the constitution, the more advances people will see in democracy.
Choi Si-young, Arirang News.