President Lee's term-shortening reform idea sparks backlash

President Lee has reportedly suggested that he believes constitutional reform, including potentially shortening his own term, is necessary. This statement emerged during a golf meeting with several senior lawmakers from the People Power Party, according to reports.

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The 1987 system has reached the end of its lifespan and role.

Following the revelation of the president's remarks, the People Power Party reacted strongly. The party's senior spokesperson, Park Chung-kwon, issued a statement demanding that President Lee "clearly state, in five words, that there will be no re-election." Park accused the president of "outright mocking the public" by using national projects like semiconductors and AI as a pretext for discussing term extensions.

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No matter how much I want to do it, if I mention it first, even things that could work out won't.

Kim Tae-ho, a lawmaker who attended the golf meeting in early August, told Hankyoreh that President Lee expressed his view on constitutional reform. "The 1987 system has reached the end of its lifespan and role," Kim quoted the president as saying, adding that Lee also commented, "No matter how much I want to do it, if I mention it first, even things that could work out won't."

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Clearly state, in five words, that there will be no re-election.

The discussion about amending the constitution and potentially shortening the presidential term has been a recurring theme. President Lee himself proposed a four-year, two-term system during his 2022 presidential campaign, mentioning a possible one-year term reduction to align presidential and general election cycles. The recent golf meeting reportedly occurred before National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik made public remarks about the possibility of presidential re-election, which had already sparked controversy.

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Using semiconductors as a shield to justify term extension and power extension is unacceptable.