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South Korea's Lee rules out second term despite constitutional revision speculation

By The South Asia Times

SEOUL — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ruled out seeking a second presidential term even if the country's Constitution is amended, his chief of staff said Wednesday, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The clarification came after National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik said it would ultimately be up to the public to decide whether to revise the Constitution to allow an incumbent president to seek another term, prompting speculation over Lee's political future.

South Korea's current Constitution limits presidents to a single five-year term and stipulates that any amendment extending presidential terms cannot apply to the sitting president when the proposal is introduced.

"Our country's constitutional system does not allow it, the people will not condone it, and it is realistically impossible," Lee was quoted as saying by his chief of staff, Kang Hoon-sik, while the president was on a visit to South America.

Kang said Lee has consistently opposed seeking reelection since before the presidential election and expressed regret that the issue had become a political controversy. He added that the presidential office was focused on economic recovery and improving livelihoods rather than engaging in what he described as unnecessary political debate.