Presidential Office, Ruling Party Push Constitutional Reform Before Restoring Trust

Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok delivers a floor speech as head of a negotiating bloc at a National Assembly plenary session on Sept. 7. Photo by Oh Seung-hyun Kim Min-seok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in a National Assembly floor speech representing his party's negotiating bloc on the 7th that he would "pursue a realistic constitutional amendment that reflects the changes of the times and the demands of the people." He proposed that "writing the May 18 Gwangju Uprising and the Busan-Masan Democratic Protests into the constitutional preamble is the starting point of amendment, and restructuring the power structure can go as far as the people want." President Lee Jae-myung, who is visiting France, earlier gave a written interview to the French daily Le Monde and stressed that constitutional reform is "necessary to strengthen the president's accountability and to distribute power more appropriately." With the second round of cabinet appointments — carried out in the name of renewing state affairs — instead drawing a backlash over inadequate vetting, the president and the ruling party leader appear to be stoking the amendment debate in unison. President Lee has already publicly proposed changing the current single five-year term to a four-year term with the possibility of re-election or a consecutive second term. Yet in a Realmeter poll conducted on the 18th and 19th of last month, opinion split on a four-year presidential term with re-election, with 50.9% opposed and 46.0% in favor. Worse still, approval ratings for President Lee and the ruling party have fallen into the 30% range across various polls. Against this backdrop, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk countered, targeting the president: "Constitutional reform is going nowhere because he has not said the one thing — that he will serve only one term, without seeking a consecutive or second term." Without a clear presidential declaration renouncing an amendment that would allow a consecutive term, the debate will struggle to gain momentum. There is a degree of public consensus that the constitution needs to be amended to move beyond the "1987 system" and keep pace with the changing times. In practice, however, it requires agreement between the governing and opposition parties as well as the consent of the public. Above all, if the president and the ruling camp are sincere about constitutional reform, they must at least avoid the criticism that they are using it to change the subject. They should also start by reflecting on the one-sided management of state affairs, the appointments and the disarray in livelihood policy that have driven away moderate voters. The ruling party must clear up, without leaving a shred of doubt, the controversies surrounding Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won and Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hye-in. As the governing party, the Democratic Party has a responsibility to rigorously vet the morality and expertise of ministerial nominees. Only then can it win public trust in its handling of state affairs and revive the momentum for constitutional reform. Watch · Seoul Economic Daily More → 3:17 Nobody's Buying KOSPI Right Now — Here's What That Means for You | September 7 2026 3:17