Jung Sye-kyun: "Constitutional Amendment Vote Alongside Next Year's Presidential Election... President Should Serve Two 4-Year Terms"

Lowering the Age of Eligibility, Land Public Concept, and Economic Democratization Must Be Included
Regarding the Proposal to Postpone Primaries, "Leadership Must Consider Responsibly"
Lee Jae-myung on Basic Income: "A System Difficult for the Democratic Party to Choose"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Jeong Se-gyun, a leading presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea and former Prime Minister, launched a bold proposal on the 8th advocating constitutional amendments centered on a four-year presidential term with one re-election, lowering the eligibility age for presidential candidates, and power decentralization.

On the morning of the same day, Jeong held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office to present his vision for constitutional reform. He emphasized, “The constitution we are using is 34 years old. It has not adequately reflected the changes over the past 34 years, so efforts are needed to revise issues including the power structure, decentralization, and fundamental rights provisions.”

He outlined the direction of the constitutional amendment as follows: ▲ horizontal decentralization among the legislative, judicial, and executive branches and vertical decentralization between central and local governments ▲ a four-year presidential term with one re-election ▲ decentralization of presidential powers focused on foreign affairs ▲ lowering the eligibility age for presidential candidates ▲ strengthening fundamental rights such as the public concept of land and economic democratization. He proposed, “I suggest pushing for the constitutional amendment now and putting it to a national referendum alongside next year’s presidential election. Discussions on people’s livelihood and constitutional reform are not mutually exclusive but can be pursued together,” countering Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung’s remark that “people’s livelihood is more important than constitutional reform at this time.”

Regarding the lowering of the presidential eligibility age, which became a hot topic due to the surge of Lee Jun-seok, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, Jeong said, “This is not aimed at any specific individual. It is necessary to keep up with the times,” adding, “It is time to serve in public office regardless of age. Efforts are needed to adjust or abolish the eligibility age, possibly aligning it with the National Assembly member eligibility age (25 years old).”

On the proposal to postpone the primary election raised among ruling party presidential candidates, he responded, “It is time to seriously discuss the timing and methods of the primary.” Jeong emphasized, “Several candidates have already called for primary adjustments. It is normal for the leadership to pay attention, listen carefully, and take necessary measures. Considering the current progress, this issue requires responsible consideration by the leadership.”

On the same day, Jeong also took a stance against Governor Lee, who is currently the frontrunner. Regarding Lee’s basic income proposal, he criticized, “The problem is the heavy fiscal burden and lack of funding measures,” adding, “For the wealthy, it is just enough to satisfy consumption, and for low-income groups, the amount is too small. It ultimately does not help reduce income inequality,” and described it as “a system difficult for the Democratic Party to choose.”

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