South Koreans eye constitutional change to president s power after martial law

SEOUL – South Korea’s political crisis has ignited bipartisan calls for constitutional amendments to reshape the power of the president, an issue hotly debated ahead of the June 3 snap election.

The election was called after former president Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and removed from office over his shock martial law decree in December, and contenders from major parties have vowed to pursue constitutional reforms.

The chances of succeeding in a constitutional amendment “are higher than ever”, said Professor Chae Jin-won at Kyung Hee University’s Institute of Public Governance.

The Constitution was last revised in 1987 to introduce direct presidential elections and a single, five-year term. Changes have long been debated but never implemented.

Front runner Lee Jae-myung of the liberal Democratic Party has proposed four years in office and two consecutive terms for presidents who take office from 2030 and onwards, a run-off system for presidential elections and parliamentary nomination for the prime minister.

“The responsibility of the president should be strengthened and powers should be decentralised,” he said on May 18.

Mr Kim Moon-soo, presidential nominee from the conservative People Power Party, has also unveiled a reform proposal, including a four-year, two-term system for future presidents.

He promised to cut his own term down to three years if he is elected as the next leader so that presidential and general elections can happen in the same year from 2028. He also pledged to strike down presidential immunity.

Yoon was a member of the People Power Party until he resigned from the political party on May 17.

In recent years, presidential candidates from across the political spectrum have supported revisions, including giving presidents two four-year terms, but there have been few concrete steps after new leaders were chosen.

A Gallup Korea opinion survey in April found that