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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Lee Jae-myung rejects call to renounce re-election bid: “Do I really need to say I won’t steal?”

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • President Lee Jae-myung reportedly rejected demands that he explicitly give up seeking another term to prove his commitment to constitutional reform.
  • He said no decision had been made on deploying a South Korean warship to the Strait of Hormuz and outlined a phased plan for introducing mifepristone.
  • Lee also discussed building a “structural majority” and said he would seek changes in inter-Korean relations despite North Korea’s negative view of the South.

President Lee Jae-myung has dismissed calls for him to declare that he will not seek another term, comparing the demand to being asked to promise not to steal. He made the remarks during a meeting with civic groups at the Blue House on the 4th, according to multiple participants.

Asked whether he should state more explicitly that he would not pursue re-election, Lee reportedly replied: “Do I really need to say I won’t steal?” He also said such a declaration would serve little purpose because neither the public nor the National Assembly would accept constitutional reform that enabled it. Under the current Constitution, a constitutional amendment would not allow the incumbent president to seek another term.

Do I really need to say I won’t steal?

· Lee Jae-myungHe used the comparison while rejecting calls to renounce a possible bid for another term.

Lee also said no decision had been made on sending a warship to the Strait of Hormuz. He noted that Britain and France were separately sending naval vessels to protect merchant shipping, but said a South Korean deployment could appear to constitute participation in a war. A senior Blue House official said the government was reviewing options while trying to avoid weakening readiness on the Korean Peninsula.

There is no decision yet.

· Lee Jae-myungHe described the status of a possible South Korean naval deployment to the Strait of Hormuz.

On mifepristone, Lee described a two-stage plan. For two years, the drug would be prescribed and manufactured inside hospitals. After that, prescriptions would remain required, but pharmacies outside hospitals would manufacture it. The government accelerated its review after Lee instructed officials last month to actively consider introducing abortion medication.

Lee also said efforts to build a “structural majority” could draw criticism from both sides and maintained that progressive reform forces remained a social minority. On inter-Korean relations, he said North Korea appeared to believe that the South’s involvement had caused past failures, but he would try to help create change.

I think progressive reform forces are still a social minority.

· Lee Jae-myungHe discussed the political challenge of building what he called a structural majority.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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