The Constituent Assembly, formed through the general election on May 10, 1948, resolved to adopt the Constitution on July 12 of that year and promulgated the first Constitution of the Republic of Korea (the Constitution of the Republic of Korea) on July 17. A view of the Constituent Assembly.Constitution Day, the starting point of the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea, is more than just a day celebrating the enactment of laws; it is a day that declared the legitimacy of a national history spanning thousands of years and laid the foundation for a democratic republic. We reflect on the urgent moments and the footsteps of the key figures leading up to the birth of the Constitution in that sweltering summer of 1948.

The Legitimacy of National History Linked to the Founding of Joseon

The day the first draft of the Republic of Korea's Constitution was finally passed (approved) by the Constituent Assembly was actually July 12. However, the National Assembly at the time did not announce this joyful news immediately, but waited five days to promulgate the Constitution on July 17.

The reason for this was to align the date with the founding day of the Joseon Dynasty (July 17 on the lunar calendar). It contained a symbolic intention to proudly inherit the legitimacy of a national history that had been severed by colonial rule and to inform the world—both domestically and internationally—that the newly emerging Republic of Korea was a nation with a long and rich history and culture. It is a glimpse into the agony of our ancestors who sought to solidify the roots of the nation through the profound connection of legal tradition.

At the time, the scholars who drafted the initial Constitution conceived a cabinet-responsibility system and a bicameral system (dividing the National Assembly into two houses) to prevent the concentration of power and dictatorship. However, President Syngman Rhee, the first Speaker, strongly opposed this, declaring, "I will not accept any public office unless it is a presidential system."

Ultimately, in early July, just days before the promulgation of the Constitution, a night of heated debate took place in an inn room, and there were twists and turns as the framework of the Constitution was hurriedly revised to a presidential system and a unicameral system (a single National Assembly) in accordance with President Rhee's wishes.

Even amidst such urgent changes in the power structure, the May 10, 1948, general election, which chose the constituent assembly members to draft the Constitution, shines brightly as the first democratic election in Korean history. The voter turnout reached a staggering 95.5%, a phenomenal record that remains the highest in the history of South Korean elections to this day. The aspirations and passionate desires of the entire nation to build a new country, a complete democratic republic, were concentrated on that single ballot.

The Protagonists of the Era Who Completed the Constitution

This sacred Constitution was formally deliberated by a 'Constitutional Drafting Committee' (consisting of 30 members and 10 expert advisors) within the National Assembly, at the heart of which were the greatest legal scholars and independence activists of the time.

Among the participating scholars, Dr. Yu Chin-o, known as 'Hyunmin,' was the de facto architect of the Constitution and the only public law scholar of the time, often called the "Father of the Constitution." The 'Yu Chin-o Draft' he authored became the great framework for the Constitution.

Dr. Yu Chin-o originally took the German Weimar Constitution as a model, incorporating a cabinet system centered on the vice president and numerous progressive socialist economic clauses, such as the right to equal distribution of profits for workers. However, he personally experienced the process of it being revised into a presidential system during political compromises, ultimately achieving a grand compromise for the national interest. 

Other pioneers of the time, including Kim Jun-yeon and Seo Sang-il, set aside their personal interests and devoted themselves to the enactment of the Constitution, looking only toward the long-term future of the nation.

The Constitutional Violations of the Lee Jae-myung Administration and the True Face of the Leftist Forces

However, this great constitutional spirit, cultivated with the blood and sweat of our ancestors, is facing a serious crisis today. Facing the extra-legal practices perpetrated during the former Lee Jae-myung administration and the hypocritical true face of the so-called progressive leftist forces, the people are witnessing a miserable collapse where the national identity is being shaken to its core.

Article 11 of the Constitution declares that "all citizens are equal before the law," and Article 101 guarantees the independence of the judiciary. However, the behavior shown by the previous administration and the massive opposition party has been nothing short of a 'history of constitutional violation' designed to protect the political security of a single individual and privatize power.

The most representative example is the legislative tyranny of 'Geomsuwanbak' (complete deprivation of the prosecution's investigative powers), which shook the foundations of the criminal justice system. This was the worst parliamentary outrage in constitutional history, neutralizing the 'principle of due process'—a constitutional value—and the deliberative power of the National Assembly to fundamentally block investigations into the personal irregularities and corruption allegations of a specific politician.

The act of indiscriminately proposing impeachment motions against judges and prosecutors to defend a serious criminal suspect currently on trial is a direct challenge to the principle of separation of powers stipulated by the Constitution. They sought to establish a system of 'dictatorship through law,' using the democratic institution of the National Assembly as a tool for political shielding and trampling on judicial justice with the power of the majority.

Furthermore, the anti-market real estate regulation bombs that ignored the property rights of citizens guaranteed by Article 23 of the Constitution, along with reckless, populist-style fiscal addiction, have exhausted the national treasury and plunged the livelihoods of the people into misery. Policies pushed through with ideological standards, ignoring market principles, ultimately kicked away the housing ladder for ordinary people and resulted in passing on unbearable debts to the younger generation.

The leftist forces, who shouted as if they had a monopoly on fairness and justice, showed extreme hypocrisy by remaining thoroughly silent or justifying with sophistry the greatest power-related corruption since the founding of the nation, such as the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong development scandals. Attempting to muzzle the media to suppress freedom of expression, and even distorting historical facts that do not fit their factional ideology, fundamentally undermined the core values of liberal democracy proclaimed by the Constitution.

South Korea is currently experiencing an unprecedented confusion of values where the spirit of the Constitution is missing and the national identity is being shaken from its roots. In a reality where judicial justice has collapsed and the rule of law has been relegated to a tool for the protection of a specific political faction, the path we must take is clear. It is to return to the original intentions of the Constitution, just as those who worked through the night to build the nation in the summer of 1948 achieved a grand compromise. To restore the rule of law in crisis and awaken the collapsed justice, I continue to shout from Gwanghwamun Square today with desperation and gravity.