65% of Koreans Say "President Lee Must Declare No Reelection Bid for Constitutional Amendments"

Opinion Poll by Reform New Party Think Tank

Survey of 515 Koreans Aged 18 and Older Nationwide

According to a public opinion poll released on August 18, more than six out of ten people in South Korea believe that President Jaemyung Lee should declare his intention to forgo a second term before discussions on constitutional amendment begin.

The Reform Research Institute, a think tank affiliated with the Reform New Party, conducted a survey on August 17 of 515 adults nationwide aged 18 or older. In this survey, 65.2% of respondents answered that President Lee should first announce he would not seek another presidential term in order to facilitate discussions on constitutional reform. Meanwhile, 30.1% said such a declaration was not necessary.

By age group, 81.8% of respondents aged 18–29 stated that President Lee should express his intent to forgo a second term, the highest among all groups. This was followed by 68.8% in their 30s, 67.7% in their 40s, 65.4% for people aged 70 or older, 58.0% in their 50s, and 54.1% in their 60s, with a majority in all age brackets.

Joonseok Lee, leader of the Reform New Party (center in the photo), is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

When asked whether a constitutional amendment adjusting the presidential term to four years and allowing for consecutive or repeat terms would reduce concentration of presidential power, 55.0% responded that it "would not be alleviated." Meanwhile, 35.4% replied "it would be alleviated," and 9.6% responded "not sure."

Regarding proposals to distribute some presidential powers—such as transferring the Board of Audit and Inspection's functions to the National Assembly and having the National Assembly nominate the prime minister—52.4% still responded that "power concentration would not be alleviated," a majority. Meanwhile, 38.1% answered that "it would be alleviated."

In particular, among those who said a constitutional amendment on presidential terms would not reduce power concentration, 85.9% said that President Lee should declare his intent to forgo a second term. Similarly, among those who were skeptical about the effect of transferring powers such as the Board of Audit and Inspection to the National Assembly, 83.0% indicated that President Lee should first declare he would not seek re-election.

Joonseok Lee, leader of the Reform New Party, commented, "The majority of the public has said that the solution proposed by the Blue House is 'not the answer.' If we want to begin a genuine discussion on constitutional reform, the president should first make clear his intention to forgo a second term."

This survey was conducted via automated response (ARS) using wireless random digit dialing (RDD), with a response rate of 3.99%. The margin of error is ±4.5 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. As this was a survey on social issues rather than an election poll, it is not subject to reporting to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.