Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of the Reform Party, announced a '10 major constitutional amendment proposals' on the 23rd, which include a four-year presidential term and a runoff voting system. After Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo, Lee also expressed a desire to change the current single-term system for the presidency.
On that day, Lee and the Reform Party noted that 'the presidential-centered power system is the cause of ongoing political conflict, and it also fails to prevent aggressive legislative actions by the Democratic Party, including over 30 impeachment attempts and budget excesses,' and announced that they will push for a constitutional amendment to decentralize the powers of the president and the National Assembly.
The core of the amendment proposal is to change the current five-year single term of the presidency to a four-year two-term system. The idea is to strengthen responsible politics and ensure continuity of government by electing a president who receives a majority vote from the voters, thereby enhancing the legitimacy of governance.
The Reform Party explained that 'by introducing a four-year centered presidency, we can provide opportunities for re-endorsement and secure continuity of government and political accountability.'
They decided to pursue constitutional amendments aimed at introducing a runoff voting system for the president and local government leaders. This would involve conducting a runoff election between the top two candidates if no one receives a majority of the votes.
Additionally, Lee said he would specify 'decentralization of capital functions' in the constitution to lay the foundation for balanced national development.
He also mentioned transferring the Board of Audit and Inspection, which is currently under the direct jurisdiction of the president, to the National Assembly to ensure independence from political power and strengthen the oversight function of the executive branch.
The intent is to prevent allegations that the Board of Audit and Inspection is engaging in politically biased audits or is embroiled in political controversy during regime transitions, and to have the National Assembly oversee the budget and administration of the Board of Audit and Inspection. The appointment of the board chair will be subject to the president's recommendation with the consent of the National Assembly or be restructured to be elected by the National Assembly.
Additionally, provisions were proposed to prevent the abuse of powers by the National Assembly and guarantee judicial independence. They decided to codify the constitution to prevent the National Assembly from interfering with judicial authority, and to establish procedures to control the abuse of impeachment powers and other issues such as 'aggressive impeachment.'
The Reform Party pointed out that 'there are cases where the National Assembly threatens judicial independence by impeaching judges due to political dissatisfaction with the trial outcomes and similar repeated attempts to impeach the same personnel,' stating that 'this not only violates the principle of separation of powers but also undermines public trust in the National Assembly.'
He also stated that 'as repeated attempts to impeach the same personnel continue, restrictions such as a ban on recurrence within a certain period and the establishment of clear impeachment criteria will be set.'