DP pushes for U.S.-style presidential system
![Chairman Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party announces Thursday a plan to amend the Constitution as part of the ruling party's campaign pledges for presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. [NEWS1]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2022/02/24/fbb928b5-2c96-487e-9b4e-2f3a452d813c.jpg)
Chairman Song Young-gil of the Democratic Party announces Thursday a plan to amend the Constitution as part of the ruling party's campaign pledges for presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung. [NEWS1]
The ruling Democratic Party (DP) said Thursday that if its candidate Lee Jae-myung wins next month's presidential election, it will push for a constitutional change to introduce a U.S.-style presidential system within a year.
The main difference between Korea and the U.S.'s presidential systems is that the U.S. president's term is four years compared to Korea's five and the president can be reelected once, which Korea's can't.
"We must democratize our power structure through a constitutional amendment," said DP Chairman Song Young-gil in a press conference Thursday morning.
Song also proposed a two-round presidential election system, also known as runoff voting, to elect a president through a majority vote and to revise the legislative election system to encourage political coalitions among parties.
According to the runoff proposal, a presidential election would proceed to a second round if no candidate wins a majority in the first round. The second round would only include the two top candidates from the first round.
"Because ours is a winner-takes-all system, some candidates face strong pressure to withdraw from the race through candidate mergers," Song said. "And ideological divisions play a big role. In a two-round system, alliances will be naturally formed between parties and liberals and conservatives. Because we do not have runoff voting, candidate mergers became negotiations behind closed doors."
Song said the DP will use its overwhelming majority in the National Assembly to follow through with the promises if Lee wins. "Within six months of the new administration, we will revise the election law to introduce a new legislative election system," he said. "Within one year, we will amend the Constitution [to change the presidential election system]."
The DP has 172 lawmakers in the 300-seat National Assembly. It requires 200 votes to amend the constitution.
During the press conference, Song issued an apology to the public for his party's cooperation with satellite political parties in the 2020 legislative election. After the legislative election, the DP absorbed its two satellite parties.
Song also said the prime minister of the next government, if Lee wins, will be appointed based on the National Assembly's recommendation.
Thursday's pledges were aimed at helping election alliances with minor presidential candidates including People's Party's Ahn Cheol-soo and Justice Party's Sim Sang-jeung and unite votes against conservative frontrunner Yoon Suk-yeol of the People Power Party (PPP).
The DP's presidential candidate Lee also said Thursday that he wants to use the upcoming presidential election as an opportunity to overhaul Korea's politics. In an interview with the Buddhist Broadcasting System (BBS) radio in the morning, Lee admitted that it will be hard for him to win the election without election alliances.
"I cannot win alone inthe current situation," Lee said. "Let's use this situation to change our politics."
He said he is reaching out to all candidates except rival Yoon. "Yoon is a macho, and it is frightening to hear his campaign speeches," Lee said. "I cannot work with such a person, but I will cooperate with all other political forces. I hope we can agree on mutual pledges of political reform."
Lee called for cooperation across party lines.
"The current monopoly by two major parties has not encouraged them to compete to do better," Lee said. "It is a hostile symbiosis, and we must end this. We should have a third and fourth party."
Lee promoted the idea of a two-round presidential election system.
Lee denied that he is desperate to come together with Ahn as he is virtually tied with Yoon in polls. "This is an opportunity," he said. "I believe this is a decisive opportunity to change the people's lives."
But Lee admitted that his proposals are practically the same as Ahn's.
Ahn on Thursday responded icily to the DP's election reform plans. "If Song is so convinced about it, he should just go ahead and implement it," Ahn said.
BY SER MYO-JA [ser.myoja@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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