S. Korean president offers to revise constitution

South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday offered to revise the country's constitution that has been maintained for nearly 30 years.

Park said in her parliamentary speech for the 2017 budget plan that she will set up a body inside the administration for a constitutional revision with an aim of completing it within her term in office that ends in February 2018.

The chief executive said she anticipates a future-oriented constitution for a new "2017 regime", asking the National Assembly to form a special committee to garner public opinion and discuss the range and content of the proposed amendment.

The so-called "1987 regime" was launched in 1987 by rewriting constitution to adopt the current single, five-year presidential term under a direct election system. Previously, the country's president had been elected indirectly under military dictatorships.

Park's proposal was a surprise reversal in her position as she previously opposed any discussion on the amendment, which she called a possible "black hole" of all national agendas, to focus more on economic and security issues.

"The current constitution of a single, five-year-term presidency, which has been in place for 30 years since its revision in 1987, might be appropriate for the past democratization period, but it now becomes a piece of clothing that does not fit (our) body," said Park.

Park said "now is the right time" to overcome the 1987 regime and build a new 2017 regime given political schedules of a presidential election slated for late next year. Endit