Lee "Integrated government, 국민내각 needed" Yoon "President should only do presidential duties"... Agreement on need for power structure reform

Lee, Yoon, Shin, An Agree on the Need for Reform of the Two-Party System and the Imperial Presidency

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Lee Myung-hwan] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized on the 25th that "politics should be for the people, but the problem is that politics is done for politicians," and stressed the need to break away from the two-party system.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, during the '2nd TV Debate for the 20th Presidential Election Candidates' hosted by the National Election Commission, Candidate Lee said, "(Currently) because you have to choose between the two major parties, instead of competition, you have to trip up the opponent to get an opportunity," adding, "We need to reform the electoral system, including proportional representation, to enable a third choice." He also added, "A coalition government or a national cabinet where various political forces unite is necessary."

Sim Sang-jung, the presidential candidate of the Justice Party, also said, "We need to change the winner-takes-all two-party system and the imperial presidency," and stated, "I will start practical measures for power decentralization." She emphasized, "Through the prime minister recommendation system and electoral reform, we will begin responsible coalition government under a multi-party system."

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, said, "Through constitutional amendment, we need to change from an imperial presidency to a decentralized presidential system, and a runoff voting system is necessary."

Yoon Seok-youl, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, also mentioned a decentralized presidency but criticized the Democratic Party for proposing power structure reforms ahead of the election. Candidate Yoon said, "Talks about power structure reform come up before elections, but they fizzle out after the election," adding, "Regarding the presidential system, the president’s tasks, the prime minister’s tasks, and the ministers’ tasks should be divided, and the president should work only on presidential duties in a decentralized manner."

He continued, "We should invite private experts and establish a public-private joint committee directly under the president to set national agendas and operate by monitoring management."

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