President and Democratic Party Leader Join Hands on Constitutional Revision Flag...No Mention of Re-election

President Lee Jae-myung and Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok have aligned their steps on pursuing constitutional revision. While showing consensus on the dispersion of presidential powers and restructuring of the power system, no message regarding the re-election ban on the current president, as demanded by the People Power Party, was forthcoming.

President Lee stated the necessity of constitutional revision to strengthen presidential responsibility and disperse presidential powers in a written interview with Le Monde on the 7th. Earlier, on the 14th of last month, he proposed the introduction of a four-year single/consecutive term system for the president and the transfer of some powers to the National Assembly, and said he would accept a shortened term if necessary for constitutional revision.

Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok expressed his intention to pursue constitutional revision in his policy speech by party representatives at the National Assembly on the same day. He presented the inclusion of the 5·18 Democratic Uprising and the Busan-Masan Uprising in the constitutional preamble as a starting point, and stated his position to pursue restructuring of the power system within the scope desired by the people.

However, Leader Kim did not present a separate position on whether the current president could seek re-election or on the scope of application of the constitutional revision. He also did not present a specific presidential term system or implementation schedule.

People Power Party Leader Jang Dong-hyuk first demanded President Lee's declaration of "no re-election." Leader Jang said, "If the Democratic Party really wants to revise the constitution, they should convince the president first, not the opposition party."