Lee rules out semi-presidential, parliamentary systems in constitutional reform push

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that a semi-presidential system or a parliamentary system is "neither desirable nor feasible given public opinion."

Lee made the remarks in a post on X, formerly Twitter, saying that characterizing a partial redistribution of presidential powers to the National Assembly as a move toward a semi-presidential or parliamentary system reflects "a mistaken understanding."

Lee said the vast majority of the public agrees that South Korea's 40-year-old constitution no longer fits the times and must be revised, and that the specific content of any constitutional reform should ideally be determined by the National Assembly through agreement between the ruling and opposition parties. He added that his own position on the substance of reform "remains unchanged."

Lee outlined his longstanding campaign pledges on constitutional reform: enshrining the spirit of the May 18 pro-democracy uprising and the Buma Democratic Uprising in the constitutional preamble; transferring some presidential powers — including jurisdiction over the Board of Audit and Inspection, the authority to recommend the prime minister, and certain appointment powers — to the National Assembly; changing the presidential term to a four-year system allowing either one additional term or consecutive re-election, to enable accountability through midterm evaluation; and strengthening local autonomy and citizens' fundamental rights.

Lee said his official position during the 2022 presidential election was that he could accept a shortening of the presidential term if necessary to achieve constitutional reform, and that his thinking on the matter "has not changed."