As South Korea’s presidential debate before a snap election approaches, the candidate frontrunners are now making a promise for constitutional amendments, restructuring the president’s power.
Back in December, former President Yoon Suk Yeol tried to impose martial law, leading to his impeachment, the removal from office, and the upcoming election. Now, contenders for the president’s seat are calling for constitutional reforms, a practice that was last undertaken in 1987.
Candidate from the liberal Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, promised to reduce the presidential term to four years with the possibility of two consecutive terms, a run-off voting system, and prime minister selection by parliamentary nomination, starting from 2030.
Lee previously rejected parliamentary speaker Woo Won-shik’s proposal for a referendum on constitutional reform on election day, citing the need to end the political turmoil as top priority. However, he stated last Sunday that the next president must gather public consensus and bipartisan support to make a constitutional reform.
Kim Moon-soo, a candidate from the conservative People Power Party (PPP), also proposed a four-year, two-term presidential system. Meanwhile, he vowed to remove presidential immunity and resign within three years so the next presidential and general elections can happen in 2028.
Kim and his party criticized Lee for not committing to shorten the next presidential term, but Lee argued that the next administration should prioritize stable governance and economic recovery, rather than devoting a significant portion of its term to amending the constitution.
In the past, many presidential candidates have backed proposals to allow presidents two four-year terms, yet little tangible progress has been made once new administrations have taken office. Nevertheless, Chae Jin-won from Kyunghee University’s Institute of Public Governance stated that a constitutional amendment is likely to happen this time.
Still, he criticized both candidates, mentioning their hidden agendas, with Kim pushing the amendment as a makeup for Yoon’s martial law, while Lee is trying to attract more moderate voters.
