‘Decentralise power’: South Koreans eye historic constitutional change in wake of crisis

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - Supporters of Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate for South Korea's conservative People Power Party, gather ahead of the second televised debate for the upcoming presidential election in Seoul, South Korea May 23, 2025. — Reuters pic

SEOUL, May 26 — 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 the major parties have vowed to pursue constitutional reforms.

“Chances to succeed in a constitutional amendment are higher than ever,” said Chae Jin-won, a professor at Kyunghee 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.

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

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

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

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

Yoon was a member of the PPP until he resigned from the 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 last month found 67 per cent of respondents supported revising the constitution to fix the presidential system, with 21 per cent saying it is unnecessary.

In April, Lee rejected a proposal by Woo Won-shik, the speaker of the parliament, to hold a referendum on constitutional reform on the June 3 presidential election day.

At the time Lee said ending the political turmoil was the top priority.

South Korea's presidential candidates, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, Kwon Young-guk of the Democratic Labor Party, Lee Jun-seok of the New Reform Party and Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party pose for photograph ahead of the second televised debate for the upcoming presidential election in Seoul, South Korea May 23, 2025. — Reuters pic

The next president should begin to gather public consensus based on election pledges for the constitutional amendment and move forward with bipartisan support, he told reporters yesterday.

Kim and his party criticised Lee for not pledging to reduce the term for the next presidency, but Lee said stable governance and economic recovery would be more important for the next leader than spending much of the term only on the constitutional revision.

Professor Chae said while Lee and Kim shared similar goals, the two contenders were driven by differing motivations.

“I think candidate Kim put forward the idea of a transitional government to revise the constitution as a way to apologise for the martial law,” he said.

“Candidate Lee initially didn’t want to jump to it, not to divert attention toward him, but now he is saying it to bring in more moderate voters.” — Reuters