Minju's Reason for Supporting 'Term Reduction' Instead of Impeachment Against Yoon

Shortened Term Ends in May 2025, Faster Than Impeachment
Relative Freedom Amid Concerns of Backlash from Constitutional Court Rejection

The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, are placing greater emphasis on the 'term reduction' card instead of impeachment to bring an early end to the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. This is based on the judgment that it can minimize unnecessary legal issues surrounding impeachment and gain both legitimacy and practical benefits for ending the administration through a national referendum.

The background for the sudden rise of discussions on presidential term reduction in the opposition is the formation of the 'Term Reduction Constitutional Amendment Lawmaker Alliance' by opposition elders on the 1st, aimed at promoting constitutional amendment. The core of their argument is that unlike impeachment, constitutional amendments are decided by a 'national referendum.' A national referendum is a direct election method. Like a presidential election, all citizens vote on a specific date. In this case, the opposition can gain the legitimacy of realizing popular sovereignty in judging the Yoon administration.

There is also an opinion that political risks can be minimized compared to impeachment. There are many hurdles to overcome for presidential impeachment. First, there must be a clear 'reason for impeachment.' Currently, there is significant legal controversy over whether various suspicions surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee alone constitute grounds for presidential impeachment. Cooperation from the ruling party is also essential. According to Article 65 of the Constitution, impeachment of the president requires a proposal by a majority of the total members of the National Assembly and approval by two-thirds (200 seats) or more of the total members. Without the ruling party's approval, it is practically difficult to pass an impeachment motion.

President Yoon Suk-yeol is giving a greeting at the People Power Party's 4th party convention held on the 23rd at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

It is also a variable whether the conservative Constitutional Court justices will ultimately accept the impeachment. If the Constitutional Court dismisses the impeachment motion, the opposition must prepare for a backlash. In contrast, the term reduction constitutional amendment is interpreted as relatively free from the 'risk' of impeachment. Professor Shin Yul of Myongji University's Department of Political Science and Diplomacy said, "There are three main conditions for impeachment: the reason must be clear, the president's approval rating must fall below 15%, and the ruling party must clearly move to break ties with the president. Currently, there is controversy over pushing for impeachment based solely on various suspicions, and even if the approval rating falls to single digits, it is difficult for People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon to completely break with the president, so it seems the opposition has taken out the term reduction card."

However, there are risks even with the term reduction plan. If President Yoon's term is shortened by two years, it would end in May 2025. The second paragraph of Article 128 of the Constitution must be amended before then. According to the Constitution, there is no constitutional basis to apply the effect of term reduction to the incumbent president in constitutional amendments for term extension or change of reappointment. It also specifies that it does not apply to the president at the time of the constitutional amendment proposal. Because of this, there is a mood within the opposition that the amendment of Article 128, Paragraph 2 should be considered to be carried out in the National Assembly.

The People Power Party has labeled the opposition's impeachment and term reduction constitutional amendment theories as agitation to dilute the judicial risks of leader Lee Jae-myung. However, some in the political circle evaluate that even from the ruling party's perspective, a term reduction constitutional amendment could be an easier exit strategy for the party's survival than impeachment.