President Lee reiterates support for constitutional revision to four-year presidential term

SEOUL, Aug. 14 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung on Friday reiterated his support for a four-year, two-term presidential system through a constitutional revision, stressing that he is also open to shortening his term.

"It has been my campaign pledge and consistent position that we should pursue a constitutional revision to introduce a four-year presidency allowing either nonconsecutive or consecutive terms, enabling voters to conduct a midpoint evaluation, while strengthening local autonomy and the people's basic rights," Lee said in a social media post.

Lee noted that he is open to shortening his term when necessary for the constitutional revision.

Article 128 of the Constitution stipulates that an extension of the presidential term shall not apply to the president in office at the time the amendment is proposed.

"The Constitution, which is now 40 years old, is no longer suited to the current era, and a majority of the people agree on the need for a revision. If a constitutional revision is actually pursued, it would be desirable for the specific details to be determined by the National Assembly through an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties," Lee said.

The president also mentioned the need to reflect the 1980 Gwangju pro-democracy uprising and the 1979 Busan-Masan pro-democracy protests in the preamble of the Constitution.

Lee added that a semi-presidential or parliamentary system is neither desirable nor feasible considering public opinion.

The online post came hours after a presidential official said earlier in the day that the president sees problems arising from the country's governing system, which places too much power in the hands of the president.

The official noted that Lee believes a four-year, two-term presidential system may be most acceptable to the public and could help offset the limitations of the all-powerful presidential system.

"(Lee believes) a four-year, two-term presidential system that strengthens the power of the National Assembly is most likely to be acceptable to the public," the official said.

Still, he believes a constitutional reform should be discussed and pursued by the National Assembly, as it would require the consent of at least 200 of the total 300 lawmakers.

"The president's position is that a constitutional reform should be pursued through (bipartisan) consent," the official said, calling it Lee's long-standing stance on constitutional reform.