Jang Dong-hyeok of the People Power Party said on the 28th that, regarding National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik's remark about a "constitutional amendment for consecutive terms," "President Lee Jae-myung has finally revealed his true intentions."
Meeting with reporters at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 28th, Jang said, "Speaker Cho argued that we should pursue a constitutional amendment to allow consecutive terms, including for the sitting president," adding, "It seems the president brought him in as a special political adviser and gave him special training to push a constitutional amendment."
He went on, "Since the start of the Lee Jae-myung administration, over the past year, it has wrecked all of Korea's systems, and the stock market has now become a hellfire. People are saying even a single year is frightening," adding, "So how much more do they plan to destroy Korea and plunge the public into pain to talk about the president's consecutive term?"
Jang also said, "We kept saying that if the president would simply say he will never seek a consecutive term, it would be easier to begin constitutional amendment talks in good faith, but after saying he would never seek a consecutive term, he has finally shown his true colors," adding, "He talked about the 'May 18 spirit,' but in the end, as I have kept saying, all he did was probe here and there to seek a consecutive term."
He added, "If the president goes against the will of the people and the current spirit of the Constitution and really pushes a constitutional amendment for a consecutive term, that would be a true insurrection," saying, "If he seeks a consecutive term, would the public, not the People Power Party, accept it?"
That morning, at a press briefing held at the National Assembly, Speaker Cho left open the possibility of a constitutional amendment for consecutive terms, saying in relation to the issue, "In restructuring the power system, the matter of amending the Constitution to allow a sitting president to serve consecutive terms ultimately comes down to the sovereign people's choice."
Jang Hyeon-ju, senior public affairs secretary to the National Assembly speaker, said of the controversy over the remarks on a constitutional amendment, "Speaker Cho expressed a principled position that it should proceed based on public consensus and political agreement," adding, "He is fully aware of Article 128, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution." Article 128, Paragraph 2 states, "A constitutional amendment for the extension of the term of the president or a change in the provision for reelection shall not apply to the president in office at the time the amendment is proposed."