People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik on Tuesday criticized National Assembly Speaker Jo Jeong-sik for suggesting that whether a sitting president can seek reelection is "a matter for the sovereign people to decide," saying the current Constitution explicitly prohibits it and that the issue cannot be part of any constitutional reform discussion.
Jeong posted on his Facebook page, asking, "Why on earth is even the Assembly speaker doing this?" He added: "If this is to be debated, any constitutional reform discussion becomes impossible altogether."
"Even former Speaker Woo Won-shik made clear that even if a constitutional amendment were to allow reelection, it would not apply to the sitting president," Jeong said. "And yet President Lee Jae Myung, the minister of government legislation and now even Speaker Jo are leaving open the possibility of this utterly pointless and harmful debate."
Jeong questioned whether Speaker Jo had decided to "take up the torch" for President Lee's reelection bid, and said the People Power Party would refuse to participate in any constitutional reform discussion that includes a provision for President Lee's reelection.
He also called on President Lee to declare that he would not seek reelection, saying it would help prevent unnecessary conflict from escalating. "The very fact that we have to say this is simply absurd," he added.
Jeong also turned his attention to the stock market, noting that the Kospi fell below 6,000 and the Kosdaq dropped below 700 during trading Tuesday. "They have turned the market into such a mess that you can't tell whether it's a stock exchange or a casino — and yet talk of reelection is coming out of their mouths?" he said. "I hope they focus on actually governing the country."
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