Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, said on the 22nd, "I will boldly relinquish the presidential powers referred to as imperial" and emphasized once again his plan to reduce the current 5-year term for the 21st president to 3 years and promote the introduction of a 4-year term system. He also promised to reduce the number of National Assembly members by 10% and appoint more than one-third of cabinet members under the age of 40.
On that day, Kim said at the Central Party office in Yeouido, Seoul, "I will become 'the president of the people' rather than an imperial president," and added, "To introduce a 4-year term system, we must align the terms of the president and National Assembly members, so I will yield my term to 3 years to allow the simultaneous election of the president and National Assembly members in April 2028."
He stated regarding the 'presidential and National Assembly member term alignment plan,' "If we organize nationwide elections to be held twice over four years, the political schedule will become predictable, and the administrative and financial expenses incurred for elections will significantly decrease." He emphasized that "to receive the people's re-endorsement, the government and ruling party must cooperate, and a healthy political culture where both ruling and opposition parties compete on legislative achievements will be fostered."
Kim also promised to boldly relinquish powers to resolve the imperial presidency.
He noted, "The source of power that turns the president into an emperor is the personnel authority," and added, "To eradicate parachute appointments in public institutions, I will enact the 'no parachute law' and introduce the 'Korean Plum Book' system." The Plum Book is a list of public positions that the president must appoint to implement national governance philosophy. Kim said, "The essential positions and qualifications to be included in the Plum Book will be selected through discussions with both ruling and opposition parties."
He added, "I will also boldly abolish the presidential immunity privilege," stating, "I will become a power that is monitored, and the independence of investigative agencies will be significantly strengthened." He further mentioned, "The special inspector general targeting presidential relatives has not been appointed in the Moon Jae-in and Yoon Seok-youl administrations, raising questions about its effectiveness," and said, "I will appoint someone recommended by the opposition party as the special inspector general. It would be even better if candidate Lee Jae-myung recommends someone."
Additionally, he mentioned, "I will revive the National Assembly as a true hall of the people's will" and said he would reduce the number of National Assembly members by 10% in response to overwhelming public opinion favoring a reduction in the number of lawmakers. Kim noted, "Reducing the number of members will be a symbolic gesture of giving up the Assembly's vested interests and will be transformed into the driving force for all public reforms."
He also promised to abolish the non-arrest privilege and immunity privilege for National Assembly members. Kim stated, "Among my political reform tasks, this is something achievable as the Democratic Party and I share the same thoughts to implement immediately," and added, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung also pledged to abolish the non-arrest privilege during the last 20th presidential election, and since he reaffirmed it in his representative speech of the negotiating group in June 2023, I expect bipartisan cooperation on this matter." He emphasized that he would strengthen direct democratic systems such as the national legislative system and the National Assembly member recall system.
Moreover, he stated that he would prevent the abuse of power by the Assembly, saying, "I will strengthen impeachment requirements and ensure that members can perform their duties until the Constitutional Court acknowledges the impeachment. I will ensure that the Constitution specifies that motions for impeachment against judges cannot be initiated based on the trial content."
Kim particularly promised to create conditions for the removal of the 86 generation's political vested interests and for generational change.
He remarked, "The 86 generation is the successful generation that led the democratization of South Korea. However, they have particularly failed to exit gracefully in the political realm and have transformed into vested interests," adding, "I will lead a generational shift in the political and administrative domains to bring about a transition in the era."
He also stated, "I will ensure a definite generational change in the public sector, appointing over one-third of cabinet members under the age of 40 (under 50) to make the birth of a minister in their 40s natural," and added, "I will actively employ proven leaders from the private sector, specifically CEOs in their 40s, when selecting heads of public institutions listed in the Plum Book."
In addition, to strengthen the independence of the judiciary, he proposed: ▲ institutionalization of the candidate recommendation committee for Supreme Court justices and constitutional judges, establishing a requirement for a two-thirds majority consent from the National Assembly during appointments; ▲ abolishing the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials; ▲ integrating the investigative functions of the police and prosecution concerning power-based corruption; ▲ establishing an independent external control body; and ▲ creating a new crime for judicial obstruction.
Additionally, he promised, "Through significant innovation of the National Election Commission, I will secure neutrality and restore public trust in elections," and outlined plans including: ▲ establishing an external control and monitoring system for the National Election Commission through the introduction of a special audit committee; ▲ prohibiting the concurrent appointment of the National Election Commission chairman and local election commission chairs as judges; ▲ applying the principle of reciprocity to foreigners and reinforcing conditions for granting electoral rights.
Shin Dong-uk, the chief spokesperson for the People Power Party's election committee, met with reporters and explained about Kim's political reform pledges, saying, "By relinquishing (powers), he aims to complete true democratization of South Korea," and added, "Kim experienced the democratization and industrialization era firsthand. His strong will to dedicate himself to political reform is evident."
However, it is reported that there was no internal opinion-gathering process regarding the pledges related to the 'abolition of the non-arrest privilege for National Assembly members' and '10% reduction in the number of lawmakers.'
Chief Spokesperson Shin stated, "Basically, the presidential candidate's pledges do not undergo deliberation in the general assembly (for approval)," and added, "It is natural for the party to follow the candidate's intentions, and the specifics will be adjusted later if there are controversies." He said that the specific measures regarding the reduction of the number of National Assembly members, such as whether to target proportionate representatives or constituency representatives, as well as the plan to push forward simultaneous electoral reforms, will be decided after further discussions.