"Dictatorship Like Putin With Re-election?
Such Claims Are Baseless Fabrications"
Lee Jaemyung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, addressed concerns regarding whether a four-year presidential re-election system would apply to a sitting president, stating that he would follow the will of the people but added that it is unlikely to be what the public wants.
At a press conference held at the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 25th, Lee was asked whether the constitutional amendment introducing a four-year presidential re-election system would also apply to the incumbent president. He responded, "We must respect the position of the people," but added, "However, I believe the public would not easily accept the idea of the sitting president receiving additional benefits at the time of the amendment."
Regarding the People Power Party's criticism that Lee's proposal for a four-year presidential re-election system is intended to enable long-term rule, he said, "I hope you will put aside such suspicions," and pointed out, "I would appreciate it if you could refrain from causing confusion or disorder in state affairs."
Lee also explained why he proposed a re-election system rather than a non-consecutive term system. He said, "Under a non-consecutive term system, a former president who has left office could run again at some point in the future. If a president can serve again later, it means serving two terms regardless of political stability," and added, "That is why academia also discusses re-election, which allows a president to serve two consecutive terms, rather than non-consecutive terms."
Lee emphasized, "If we use the term 're-election,' it should mean that a president can serve two consecutive terms," and continued, "If there are concerns about serving three or four terms, we can specify that re-election is allowed only once. To suggest that I am trying to push through a constitutional amendment alone, or to compare me to Putin and accuse me of seeking dictatorship, is a baseless fabrication."
Regarding the fact that he raised the issue of constitutional amendment relatively late compared to other presidential candidates who quickly brought up the topic after the election campaign began, Lee said, "It was not a sudden decision," and added, "I always thought there would be calls to address this at some point." He further explained, "Because overcoming internal strife was important, I was concerned that discussions about constitutional amendment might blur the essence of overcoming such strife."
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