POLL Koreans seek 4-year, 2-term presidency in constitutional reform

People read a notice on a referendum to amend the Constitution in this 1987 photo. That amendment, which introduced a directly elected president with a single five-year term, remains the most recent constitutional reform in Korea. Korea Times file

President Lee Jae-myung's pledge to revise the current single five-year presidential term has emerged as the most important issue in the anticipated constitutional reform.

According to a poll conducted by Hankook Research and commissioned by The Korea Times, 34 percent of 1,000 respondents said the new government should prioritize introducing a four-year presidency with the possibility of reelection one time, if it proceeds with the first constitutional amendment since 1987, as Lee has pledged.

The change of presidential term was supported by all respondents across ideological inclinations — liberal, centrist and conservative.

Lee has argued that a two-term system would allow for a midterm evaluation of an administration's performance and offer continuity in governance.

However, he has pledged to serve only a single, five-year term himself, in response to criticism that he is seeking to extend his rule. Article 128 of the Constitution stipulates that any changes to the presidential term shall not apply to the incumbent president.

President Lee Jae-myung announces the nomination of Rep. Kim Min-seok, left, of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, as prime minister at the presidential briefing room in Seoul, Wednesday. Joint Press Corps

The poll showed that 20 percent of respondents prioritized the idea of a so-called "responsible prime ministership," a concept of dividing presidential power with the prime minister.

Although Lee has also vowed to decentralize executive power by giving the National Assembly the authority to nominate the prime minister, this proposal drew more interest from respondents identifying themselves as conservatives.

Among the 247 respondents who said they voted for Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party, 28 percent believed empowering the prime minister should be the top priority in a constitutional amendment, slightly higher than the 27 percent who favored changing the presidential term.

This contrasted sharply with responses from supporters of Lee and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, as 39 percent of 523 people who voted for Lee placed more emphasis on the presidential term issue.

Lee Jae-myung, then-presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, talks with Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung during an event held in the city, May 17, to commemorate the May 18 pro-democracy movement. Joint Press Corps

Of the 1,000 respondents, 15 percent said it is necessary to include in the Constitution the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju pro-democracy movement, which took place in 1980 in opposition to former President Chun Doo-hwan's military regime.

Currently, the only pro-democracy movement mentioned in the preamble to the Constitution is the April 19 Revolution, which overthrew the Syngman Rhee administration in 1960.

Compared to other regions where fewer than 20 percent of respondents viewed the inclusion of the Gwangju uprising as the most important issue, 29 percent of the 96 respondents living in the city and its neighboring North and South Jeolla provinces considered it the top priority in the constitutional reform debate.

However, it remains uncertain whether Lee's reform drive will gain traction, as only 3 percent of total respondents viewed constitutional amendment for presidential power reform as the most urgent task facing the new administration.

The Korea Times commissioned the survey to gauge public sentiment. Hankook Research surveyed 1,000 adults nationwide in phone interviews on Wednesday and Thursday. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, with a credibility rate of 95 percent. Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.