Indo-Pacific — 2026-08-14

South Korea President Lee Proposes Constitutional Reform Allowing Four-Year Presidential Terms With Reelection

BLUFLee's rigid rejection of power-sharing models constrains the cross-party coalition-building needed for a 200-seat supermajority, making formal amendment advancement very unlikely by year-end 2026.

A Blue House official said Friday that President Lee Jae Myung shares concerns over South Korea's "imperial presidency" and favors a constitutional model allowing a four-year presidential term with re-election, combined with strengthened National Assembly powers, calling it the option with the broadest public acceptance 1234. The official said the approach is not a shift to a cabinet system or a power-sharing presidency but rather a term-limit fix for the current single five-year term 234. Constitutional amendment requires support from at least 200 lawmakers, and the official said the reform should be discussed and pursued through the National Assembly based on political consensus 123. Segye Ilbo reported the statement followed a People Power Party lawmaker's disclosure of golf outings with Lee, during which the president reportedly said he would consider shortening his own term to achieve constitutional reform, a claim the Blue House said it could not confirm or deny 4.

Analysis
Formal advancement of the four-year re-electable term amendment to the required 200-lawmaker threshold is very unlikely by year-end 2026, since cross-party supermajority support demands buy-in from a PPP with incentive to press for a fuller power-sharing model, and the Blue House's explicit rejection of a cabinet or power-sharing system narrows the range of formulas the opposition may accept. Confidence in this judgment is high: the briefing reads as a fixed institutional position rather than a negotiating opener, with no timeline for assembling the needed coalition, though sourcing traces to three Korean outlets transcribing a single briefing event rather than independent government confirmation. The disclosed golf-course remark about shortening his own term suggests Lee may privately favor a more radical power-sharing restructuring, with the stated model functioning as damage control rather than settled policy. National Assembly floor leaders will calibrate whether to negotiate the narrower fix or hold out for a broader overhaul based on whether this formula can draw 200 votes.

4 sources