Over 60% of Korean voters support shortening presidential terms, allowing re-election

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Over 60% of Korean voters support shortening presidential terms, allowing re-election

Published: 27 May. 2025, 10:03

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, left, and People Power Party presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, right, each waves to supporters during campaign rallies on May 25. [NEWS1]

Over 60 percent of Korean voters said they supported amending the Constitution to replace the current single five-year presidential term with a four-year renewable term or a term allowing re-election, a poll conducted by Gallup Korea for the JoongAng Ilbo between Saturday to Sunday showed.

Thirty-one percent opposed the change, while 8 percent were unsure or refused to answer.

By age group, support for constitutional revision was high among all age brackets except for those in their 20s, with 58 percent in their 30s, 75 percent in their 40s, 70 percent in their 50s, 59 percent in their 60s and 57 percent of those aged 70 and older expressing support.

In terms of political orientation, 57 percent of conservatives, 68 percent of progressives and 63 percent of moderates were in favor of revising the Constitution.

However, when broken down by party support, 71 percent of Democratic Party (DP) supporters were in favor, compared to 52 percent of People Power Party (PPP) supporters — a 19 percentage point gap.

This contrasts with a previous JoongAng Ilbo–Gallup poll conducted between April 8 to 9, where 70 percent of PPP supporters and 66 percent of DP supporters supported constitutional revision.

Analysts believe this shift is linked to DP candidate Lee Jae-myung's recent proposal on May 18 advocating a constitutional amendment introducing a four-year renewable presidential term — an idea he had distanced himself from immediately after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached, emphasizing that “ending the insurrection must come first.”

From left: Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party, Kim Moon-soo of the People Power Party, Kwon Young-gook of the Democratic Labor Party and Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party pose for a photo ahead of the second televised presidential debate on May 23 at the KBS studio in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Regarding the length of the next president’s term under a constitutional amendment, 63 percent said it should remain at five years, compared to 31 percent who supported shortening it to three years in order to coincide the presidential and legislative elections in April 2028.

Support for maintaining a five-year term varied by preferred candidate. Among those backing Lee, 79 percent wanted to keep the five-year term. In contrast, 53 percent of PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo supporters favored a shortened three-year term.

“DP supporters are likely anticipating a win in the presidential election, so they prefer a full five-year term,” said Jang Yun-jin, director of public opinion analysis at Gallup Korea. “Meanwhile, Kim's supporters see the next administration as a transitional government that will end the 1987 system and usher in the Seventh Republic, making them less opposed to a shorter term.”

The candidates' own constitutional amendment proposals may have influenced public opinion. Kim had pledged to shorten the next president's term to three years as part of his plan for a four-year renewable presidency.

As for the timing of a national referendum on the amendment, respondents were split between April 2028, with 35 percent responding they wanted voting to coincide with the general elections and 34 percent with the local elections in June next year. Only 19 percent favored holding the vote alongside the 2030 presidential election.

Supporters of Lee preferred holding the referendum during the June 2025 local elections, at 40 percent, while 33 percent favored April 2028. Conversely, among Kim’s supporters, 41 percent preferred April 2028, compared to 28 percent who chose the June 2025 local elections.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY KIM GYU-TAE [[email protected]]