National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik Says Incumbent President's Consecutive Term Is 'Matter of Public Choice,' Drawing Opposition Backlash

[Anchor]

National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik has sparked political controversy by stating that allowing an incumbent president to serve consecutive terms is a matter of public choice. The People Power Party immediately lashed out, claiming that his remarks reveal hidden intentions to extend the current administration's grip on power by threatening the constitutional order.

Reporter Park Jae-yeon has the details.

[Reporter]

National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik, who previously served as a political special advisor to President Lee Jae-myung, made the remarks during a press conference today (July 28).

[Cho Jung-sik / National Assembly Speaker: Regarding the reorganization of the power structure, issues such as constitutional amendment for consecutive terms of an incumbent president are ultimately a matter of public opinion and the choice of the people, who are the sovereigns.]

When asked about his stance on a constitutional amendment to extend or allow consecutive terms for an incumbent president, he replied that while such discussions are "premature at this stage," it remains a "matter of public choice."

[Cho Jung-sik / National Assembly Speaker: If it comes up during discussions on power structure reform within constitutional amendment debates, it could become an issue again. Won't opinions eventually be gathered through the Constitutional Amendment Advisory Committee or the Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment?]

Prior to these remarks, Speaker Cho stated that it is time to overhaul the current Constitution, which has been in place for nearly 40 years, and announced plans to form a speaker-led advisory committee to reach a consensus on constitutional reform by the mid-to-late part of next year.

Speaker Cho's remarks about "public choice" differ in tone from the Democratic Party's clear line drawn last May ahead of its push for a "one-point constitutional amendment," where it insisted that reform was unrelated to the issue of consecutive terms for the sitting president.

[Han Byung-do / Democratic Party Floor Leader (April 9): People Power Party Representative Jang Dong-hyn dragged in the issue of consecutive presidential terms, which is unrelated to the content of the constitutional amendment, to turn it into a political feud. It is a textbook case of false agitation...]

The People Power Party criticized that the true intentions behind extending the administration's rule and pushing for consecutive terms, which threaten the constitutional order, have been exposed.

[Jang Dong-hyn / People Power Party Leader: If they defy the constitutional spirit and truly push for a constitutional amendment for consecutive terms, that itself will constitute genuine rebellion.]

Article 128 of the current Constitution stipulates that "an amendment to the Constitution for the extension of the term of office of the President or for changing the provisions allowing consecutive terms shall not be effective for the President in office at the time of the proposal of such amendment."

Furthermore, a constitutional amendment requires the approval of at least two-thirds of the registered members of the National Assembly—meaning 200 or more lawmakers—making reform difficult without the consent of the 109-seat People Power Party.

As the controversy escalated, Speaker Cho's office clarified, "Saying that the possibility of consecutive terms for the incumbent president was left open is completely different from the intent of his remarks," adding, "He merely expressed a principled stance that constitutional amendments regarding the reorganization of the power structure must proceed based on public consensus and political agreement."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
Reported by Shin Dong-hwan | Video by Park Seon-soo | Graphics by Han Heung-soo