President Lee Jaemyung: "My Term Is Clearly Limited by the Constitution"

President Lee Jaemyung stated, "In any case, my term of office is clearly limited by the Constitution." While this remark was made in the context of emphasizing the importance of diplomacy early in his presidency, some analysts believe it is not unrelated to calls for him to clarify his position on the ongoing debate surrounding constitutional amendments to allow consecutive presidential terms.

On September 9 (local time), during a meeting with Korean nationals in Paris, France, President Lee commented, "At the beginning of my tenure, I deliberately scheduled numerous overseas visits." He continued, "Meetings between heads of state present significant opportunities for the Republic of Korea, an open trading country, in terms of trade, investment, and security." He further explained, "No matter how good a relationship one builds later in the term, it is inevitably more difficult to leverage at that stage."

President Lee's remarks about "term limits" are being interpreted as a response to the opposition's push for constitutional changes to allow presidential re-election. On this day, Jang Donghyeok, leader of the People Power Party, claimed on Facebook that President Lee brought up constitutional amendments during an interview with the French media, asserting, "There is only one reason the President is so fixated: to push for a constitutional amendment allowing consecutive terms." Jeong Jeomsik, floor leader of the People Power Party, also criticized the President the day before, saying, "President Lee will never explicitly state that he will not seek re-election," and declared, "There will be no constitutional amendment under the current administration."

Meanwhile, the Blue House maintains its position that a constitutional amendment to allow consecutive presidential terms is not possible. Hong Ikpyo, Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs, stated the day before, "It is unfortunate that the controversy keeps growing even though the issue has been clearly addressed already." He emphasized, "When President Lee met with Party Leader Jang, he said, 'I have no intention whatsoever--what's the point of repeatedly asking me not to do something I have no intention of doing?'"

Yonhap News Agency

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