President Lee and Democratic Party Leader Join Forces on Constitutional Reform...No Mention of Re-election

President Lee Jae-myung and Kim Min-suk, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, have aligned their efforts on pursuing constitutional reform. While they showed consensus on dispersing presidential powers and restructuring the system of government, no message emerged regarding the power transfer bloc's demand that President Lee declare his ineligibility for re-election.

On the 7th, President Lee expressed the necessity of constitutional reform to strengthen presidential accountability and disperse presidential powers in a written interview with Le Monde. Earlier, on the 14th of last month, he proposed introducing a four-year single term with the possibility of re-election for the president and transferring some powers to the National Assembly, and said he would accept shortening his term if necessary for constitutional reform.

Kim Min-suk, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his intention to pursue constitutional reform at a speech by party representatives in the National Assembly on the same day. He presented the inclusion of the May 18 Democratic Uprising and the Busan-Masan Uprising in the constitutional preamble as a starting point, and stated his position to pursue restructuring the system of government within the scope desired by the people.

However, Leader Kim did not present a separate position on President Lee's re-election eligibility or the targets for constitutional reform application. He also did not present specific details on the presidential term system or the timeline for implementation.

Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, first demanded that President Lee declare 'no re-election.' Leader Jang said, "If the Democratic Party truly wants constitutional reform, it should persuade the president first, not the opposition party."