Moon proposes 2-term, 4-year presidency

Cho Kuk, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs, right, speaks with Jin Sung-joon, presidential secretary for political affairs, after a press conference Thursday. / Yonhap

Voting age to be lowered to 18 under Moon's proposals

By Choi Ha-young

President Moon Jae-in proposed changing the current single five-year presidential term to a possible two-term, four-year presidency in his plan for a constitutional revision, Cheong Wa Dae said Thursday.

Under the new system, the president's power will be curtailed, while the prime minister and the National Assembly will be given more power. The envisioned changes aim to ensure policy sustainability by giving presidents the opportunity to seek re-election, according to Cho Kuk, senior presidential secretary for civil affairs.

The presidential office will officially submit the revision bill to the Assembly, March 26, in the hopes of holding a national referendum June 13, alongside local elections.

Under Moon's proposals, presidential power will be reduced significantly, Cho said. “The revision bill features checks and balances between the executive and the legislature,” he told reporters.

Despite calls from conservative opposition parties, Cho dismissed the idea of authorizing the Assembly to elect or recommend a prime minister. “If the president and the prime minister are from different parties, the dual power structure will cause confusion in state affairs,” he said.

Instead, the revision bill stipulates various measures to mitigate presidential power ― an independent committee to review special pardons; a Constitutional Court chief elected by its justices, not the president; independent authority for the prime minister to lead ministries; the Assembly to name three members of the nine-member Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI); the Assembly to have larger control over budget reviews; and more treaties to be ratified by the Assembly.

Some opposition parties have backed a parliamentary system or semi-presidential system, as a measure not to repeat the tragedies of the “imperial presidency,” as shown by the abuse of power by ex-President Park Geun-hye which led to her ouster. However, Cho said opinionsurveys showed people were overwhelmingly in favor of the presidential system.

“Reform of the power structure should respect public sentiment,” Cho said. “The presidential system is deeply rooted in Koreans' consciousness.”

Additionally, Cho refuted the rumor that Moon is seeking another presidential term through the two-term presidency. “I clearly state that Moon is not eligible for a two-term presidency, according to Article 128 of the existing Constitution.”

Under the President-led constitutional amendment, 18-year-olds could gain voting rights. “All OECD countries except Korea give them the right to vote,” Cho said.

“Historically, teenagers have played an important role in pro-democracy movements including the 1960 April Revolution, 1979 Busan-Masan Democratic Protests and the candlelit protests of 2016.”

The issue has become a political hot potato between conservatives and liberals, since young voters are more likely to support liberal and progressive parties.

Also, Moon touted electoral system reform to make the Assembly seats reflect the number of votes in the amendment bill. Cho cited the outcome of the 2016 general election, in which the Democratic Party of Korea and the Saenuri Party ― the predecessor of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) ― received 65 percent of the vote, but took 85 percent of the seats.

“To resolve this dissonance, the revision bill states the principle of proportionally sharing Assembly seats in accordance with the voters' will,” Cho said.

Following the conference, chief presidential secretary for political affairs Han Byung-do visited political parties to brief them on the revision bill.

The bill must pass the legislature's plenary session slated for May 25 ― which is unlikely considering the largest opposition party LKP's is planning a boycott. The LKP is calling for a united front along with three other opposition parties ― the centrist Bareun Mirae Party, the minor liberal Party for Democracy and Peace and the progressive Justice Party ― to protest Moon's bill.