South Korea begins preparations to amend Constitution — Korea Herald
South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea on September 20 created a working group to prepare constitutional reform. This came after South Korean President Lee Jae-myung stated that he does not intend to run for a second presidential term regardless of possible changes to the Constitution.
As Korea Herald reports, the ruling party urged the opposition to reach a consensus on the reform as soon as possible. It plans to prepare its own draft amendments and coordinate them with other parties no later than April 2027, with a referendum to be held before the end of the first half of 2027.
Ruling party’s proposals
South Korea’s current Constitution limits the presidency to one five-year term. The Democratic Party is considering an option under which the president could serve two four-year terms.
Party leader Kim Min-seok said the reform should also include changes to the system of government based on public consensus. He proposed mentioning in the Constitution’s preamble the 1979 democratic protests in Busan and Masan, as well as the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising.
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Opposition’s position
The main opposition People Power Party said its position has not changed. Party representative Choi Bo-yoon called the president’s statements insufficiently clear to consider the issue settled.
The opposition had previously argued that constitutional changes could create conditions for extending Lee Jae-myung’s presidency and demanded that the new term rules not apply to him. Lee Jae-myung also stated that constitutional amendments should be decided by the National Assembly and citizens, and that he is ready to cooperate after interparty consultations and the collection of public opinion.
Amending the Constitution requires the support of at least two-thirds of National Assembly members. The changes must then be approved in a referendum by more than half of participants in the vote, provided that at least half of all voters take part.
