Lee Jae-myung: "Planning a Responsible Prime Minister and Practical Cabinet... Will Not Discriminate Between Left and Right Camps"

Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering a keynote speech at a debate hosted by the Korea Newspaper and Broadcasting Editors Association held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 30th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced that he will implement a pragmatic cabinet, a responsible prime minister system, and a unified government, stating that he will not discriminate between left and right camps.

On the morning of the 30th, at a debate hosted by the Korea Newspaper and Broadcasting Editors Association held at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, Lee was asked, "Are you willing to accept a responsible prime minister system or a prime minister nomination system by the National Assembly?" He replied, "While serving as the mayor of Seongnam, I tried to use policies and people regardless of their origin or political orientation. That is why the results were high and I came to this position," adding, "In any form, I intend to use the best talents pragmatically without discriminating between camps."

He also mentioned, "Among these, the responsible prime minister system is something that should be utilized as much as possible within the constitutional system or legal framework." He added, "The National Assembly nomination system can be accepted, but if it becomes a formal system, it could lead to a government paralysis in case of a minority government."

Lee explained, "Even if we are cautious about making it a formal system, receiving nominations and conducting negotiations would be desirable," and "Ultimately, it requires the consent of the National Assembly, and a kind of cooperative governance system, broadly speaking a unified government, would be acceptable."

When asked about solutions to the fact that the five-year single-term presidential system has been in place for 35 years but many terms have ended unhappily, he said, "I think the personal misfortunes of presidents are more a matter of precedent than the system." He continued, "The biggest reason former presidents suffer misfortune after leaving office is because they or their close associates were involved in corruption," adding, "Fortunately, the Moon Jae-in administration was different. It had an unusually high approval rating toward the end of the term, and I believe it was free from corruption."

Lee stated, "However, our constitutional system has become too outdated since 1987, and the world has changed a lot, but since we approach it through a full constitutional amendment, it is only possible in truly exceptional emergency situations," adding, "The first thing I want to do is to definitely include the state's responsibility for climate change."

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