Kim Du-kwan "Presidential Candidacy Age Limit Should Be Lowered to 25, National Assembly to 18"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 1st, Kim Du-gwan, a member of the Democratic Party running for president, argued that the eligibility age for presidential candidates should be lowered from 40 to 25, and the eligibility age for National Assembly candidates should be lowered from 25 to 18.

Kim Du-gwan, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

On that day, Kim attended a meeting with women and youth members of the Democratic Party's Gangwon Province branch and said, "In our country, 85% of conscripts enlist between the ages of 20 and 22, so it is reasonable to lower the presidential candidate eligibility age to 25, and the eligibility age for National Assembly candidates should be adjusted to match the voting age in line with global trends."

Kim criticized, "The current presidential candidacy age limit of 40 or older was established during the Rhee Syngman administration during the Korean War, and was embedded in the constitution during the 1963 constitutional amendment by the Park Chung-hee regime, which succeeded in a military coup. This clause, which has no rational reason other than the bad intention of dictators to block the emergence of young politicians, still prevents the rise of young leaders."

Regarding the age limit for National Assembly candidates, he pointed out, "During the US military government period, when left-right conflicts were intense, our politicians failed to reach an agreement, so the US military government created it according to the US constitutional amendment. The UK lowered the candidacy age to 18 in 2007, the US continues to submit bills to lower the candidacy age, and Sweden already grants candidacy rights at 18, so lowering the candidacy age is a global trend."

Kim introduced, "According to overseas data, the higher the candidacy age in a country, the lower the proportion of young lawmakers," and emphasized, "To make politics healthier, youth political participation must be increased, and lowering the candidacy age is the most fundamental political reform task."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.