Lee counters Yoon with a 4-year renewable presidential term amendment... evaluations are mixed

Moon Hee-sang "Lee Jae-myung-like"
Kim Jae-won "A Pointless Story"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] In response to President Yoon Seok-yeol's political reform agenda of the 'large multi-member constituency system' as his New Year's first declaration, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, countered by proposing the agenda of a '4-year presidential two-term constitutional amendment' at his New Year's press conference. While the opposition praised it as "typical of Lee Jae-myung," the ruling party downplayed its significance as "a pointless talk."

Former National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang said on the 13th on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' regarding Lee's announcement of the '4-year two-term constitutional amendment' stance, "Now I feel that Lee Jae-myung has returned to his true self and the demeanor befitting the leader of the main opposition party, so I evaluate the press conference itself," adding, "Although it is somewhat late, it is not too late."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' former Speaker Moon expressed regret that the opposition did not take the initiative to raise the 'political reform' issue first in the New Year, saying President Yoon's 'large multi-member constituency system' proposal was "a point where the opposition should have struck first." He evaluated that Lee's call for a 'constitutional amendment' was a good move in terms of preempting the political reform agenda.

Jeong Cheong-rae, a senior member of the Democratic Party, also praised Lee's 'constitutional amendment' agenda, saying, "It is a more comprehensive and deeper problem-solving approach compared to the large multi-member constituency system," and added, "I liked it." Regarding President Yoon's proposed 'large multi-member constituency system,' Jeong criticized it as "a dream of four-term veteran lawmakers to extend their political life in an election where name recognition is king," and pointed out the downside, saying, "If the constituencies get larger, election costs increase accordingly, so isn't it an election party funded by the wealthy?"

On the other hand, Kim Jae-won, a former senior member of the People Power Party and a potential candidate for the party's top committee, criticized Lee's New Year's press conference on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' saying, "He only said what he wanted to say and ended," and added, "It was pointless talk, what’s the point of the president’s 4-year two-term system, dragging that around, let's focus on people’s livelihood, summit talks, those kinds of things (were said)". He implied that the '4-year two-term system' discussion is pointless.

The constitutional amendment discussion was also marked off by the presidential office as a "matter for the National Assembly to discuss," and even the opposition acknowledges it as a challenging task. Park Ji-won, an advisor to the Democratic Party, explained, "It is meaningful that Lee discussed the constitutional amendment issue, but I think both the amendment and the large multi-member constituency system are difficult," adding, "The opposition and lawmakers each have complicated calculations, so it is really difficult."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee has long voiced the need for a '4-year presidential two-term' constitutional amendment. On the past New Year's MBN 'News Wide,' he argued, "The 4-year two-term system is a global trend," and stated, "There must be a possibility of re-election for a substantial mid-term evaluation." In his September speech as the leader of the parliamentary negotiation group, he said, "The 5-year single-term system, where the president was indirectly elected in a gymnasium, was innovative at the time, but times have changed," emphasizing the need to shift to a 4-year two-term system.

The 4-year two-term system is adopted by major advanced democracies such as the United States and France. Among the 95 countries worldwide that have presidential systems, 83 have chosen a re-election or two-term system. Unlike the 5-year single-term system, it allows for more responsible governance and long-term national management, and it can prevent the 'lame duck' phenomenon where the president's authority diminishes toward the end of the term.

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