Jang Dong-hyeok: Kim Min-seok could be 'top contributor' to constitutional reform if he secures Lee's pledge against second term

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said Monday that Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok "could become the top contributor to constitutional reform" if he secures a declaration from President Lee Jae Myung pledging not to seek a second term.

Jang made the remarks on Facebook, saying, "If the Democratic Party truly wants constitutional reform, it needs to persuade the president first — not the opposition."

He also criticized Kim's floor leader speech earlier that day, saying it was "puzzling from start to finish." Jang noted that Kim had served as prime minister under the Lee Jae Myung administration for a year and a half, yet the speech contained "almost nothing about policy achievements." He added that Kim offered "not a single word of apology" over what he called a "real estate hell" and a "stock market collapse," and said Kim's call for a "society of dignity" was "a comedy" given the administration's appointment of ministers he described as the "bribe oppa" and the "firebrand feminist."

Jang went on to say that Kim had, "as expected, not left out the constitutional reform item," arguing that while the May 18 Gwangju Uprising and the Busan-Masan Democratic Uprising were cited as justifications, "the real intention is restructuring the power structure." He claimed that President Lee would insist that allowing presidential re-election is the "line" Kim referred to when he said reform should go "as far as the people want."

Jang said he had already made clear on several occasions that a pledge by President Lee not to seek re-election was a prerequisite for any constitutional reform. "Without that one statement — 'I will serve only one term' — constitutional reform cannot happen," he said.

On President Lee's sliding approval rating, Jang said it was "now in danger of falling below 35 percent," adding that "people say the remaining three and a half years are dreadful." He urged that "people's livelihoods, not constitutional reform, must come first," and called for special prosecutor investigations into the ETF scandal and the Jeju disappearance and death case to be launched immediately.