Rep. Kim Tae-ho of the People Power Party attends a party general meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 20th. News1
Kim Tae-ho, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, called on President Lee Jae-myung to personally declare that he will not seek a second term and to present a concrete timetable for constitutional reform, in order to prove the sincerity of his push for it.
In a Facebook post on the 22nd, Kim said Article 128, Clause 2 of the current Constitution clearly stipulates that a constitutional amendment to extend a president’s term or change term limits does not apply to the president in office at the time the amendment is proposed. “Yet political rhetoric is clouding that clarity,” he said.
Kim pointed to the recent controversy over whether the sitting president could serve a second term. “The National Assembly Speaker sparked controversy by describing whether the sitting president can serve a second term as ‘a matter of the people’s choice,’ and the Presidential Office explained, in effect, that a second term for the sitting president is realistically impossible,” he said. “But an aide’s interpretation cannot substitute for the president’s decision.”
Noting that President Lee had signaled a willingness to accept a shortened term for the sake of reform, Kim said, “If so, the president must now answer directly.” He called on Lee to “declare clearly before the people that he will take no advantage in terms of his term through this amendment, and that he will not seek a second term.”
Kim also warned that the controversy over the second-term question could obscure the substance of the reform debate. “If silence over ruling out a second term drags on, interpretations arise, and when interpretations pile up, they become suspicion,” he said. “The moment that suspicion grows, constitutional reform for South Korea’s future shrinks from a question of ‘how to change the nation’s power structure’ to one of ‘what to do about one person’s term.'”
“Constitutional reform must not be political engineering for one president’s term,” Kim stressed. “It must be a national decision that designs the South Korea of the next generation.”
He urged that the president’s declaration be accompanied by ruling and opposition party consultations and a concrete reform schedule. “With the president’s clear declaration as a starting point, the Presidential Office should immediately enter into consultations between the ruling and opposition parties and present to the people the principles of the amendment, the procedures for pursuing it, and a concrete timetable,” Kim said.
“Without a declaration, sincerity is hard to confirm, and without procedures, the proposal remains a mere message,” he said. “Without a timetable, the promise can only end as political rhetoric.”
On the direction of reform, Kim stressed that it “must be about moving beyond the political limits South Korea has accumulated since the 1987 system, dispersing power, strengthening accountability, and creating a new political system in which dialogue and compromise function.”
“The starting point and the end point of constitutional reform must ultimately be the people,” he added. “What the people are waiting for now is not another political message, but a clear declaration from the president, procedures the ruling and opposition parties can share, and a concrete timetable toward South Korea’s future.”