Lee Jae-myung, a candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea presidential primary, reiterated his stance that reforming power structure through a constitutional amendment, including a four-year presidential term limit, is not an urgent task. He emphasized that it would be preferable to conduct the constitutional amendment during the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections, which are scheduled for June next year.
After attending a meeting themed 'Citizens who led the democratization of South Korea' at Gwangju Jeonil Building on the afternoon of the 24th, the candidate met with reporters and said, "I do not agree with the argument that constitutional amendment is an urgent task that needs to be done within 100 days when people's livelihoods are difficult."
In response to a question about his statement that the spirit of the May 18 democratization should be included in the constitution and when he thinks a constitutional amendment would be appropriate, he said, "We should do it as a four-year term as the people wish, but we should change it to a new system where checks and balances are well made through a prime minister recommendation system," and added, "It would be preferable to address issues related to power structure or conflicts of interest at the same time as the presidential election."
He also noted, "Once the election is over, there are political forces that habitually hold back progress, so it is not easy to produce results called constitutional amendments," and stated, "Now it has become impossible to do it at the same time as the presidential election, so ultimately, it would be preferable for presidential candidates whose terms begin next to make constitutional amendment pledges and carry out the amendments during their terms."
He also directly spoke about the prosecution's bribery allegations against former President Moon Jae-in. The candidate criticized, "The prosecution has turned into creative novelists."
The candidate said, "The prosecution has become politicized and has turned into creative novelists since a certain point," and added, "No matter how much I look at it, I cannot see any evidence that such incidents have taken place."
He continued, "The prosecution is not a place that scripts. It is a place that clarifies and prosecutes crimes based on evidence," and emphasized, "The people will judge well if the prosecution can maintain the trust of our citizens."