SEOUL, Aug 14 (Reuters) – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on Friday he favoured changing the country’s presidency to a four-year term system that would allow a president to serve more than one term, while transferring some presidential powers to parliament.
Lee said in a post on X that his position on constitutional reform remained unchanged from his 2022 presidential campaign, when he backed adjusting the balance of power between the president and parliament and strengthening local autonomy and constitutional protections for citizens.
He said the constitution, unchanged for nearly 40 years, no longer suited the times and should be revised, adding that the details of any constitutional amendment should be decided by parliament through bipartisan agreement.
His preferred reforms included transferring some presidential powers, including authority related to the Board of Audit and Inspection, the nomination of the prime minister and some personnel appointments, to parliament.
Lee added that during his 2022 presidential campaign, his official position had been that he could accept shortening the presidential term if necessary to achieve constitutional reform, and that this position had not changed.
Earlier on Friday, Yonhap news agency reported, citing a presidential Blue House official, that Lee favours a constitutional reform that would allow presidents to serve a four-year term and seek re-election while strengthening parliamentary powers.
The official said the model had the broadest public acceptance, adding that Lee shared concerns over the concentration of power under what critics have called the country’s “imperial presidency”, Yonhap reported.
“Constitutional reform should be discussed and pursued in the National Assembly,” the official said, according to Yonhap, noting that amendments require the support of at least 200 lawmakers and should be based on political consensus.
The presidency is currently restricted to a single five-year term.
(Reporting by Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Ed Davies and Hugh Lawson)