Scholars Suggest Dual-Term Presidency

The Korean Constitutional Law Association (K-CLA, President Kim Hyeong-seong, professor at Sungkyunkwan University) has released a draft bill for amending the constitution that allows a reappointment of the president after four years tenure and adopting a runoff system.

The K-CLA, on November 19, stated in its report on the draft bill that “The five-year- single-term system for the presidency has the innate drawback of being a ‘lame duck phenomenon’ even in the early years in office, which leaves the country unsettled,” adding that, “A four-year-double-term system has the advantage to assure a right to the voters to reevaluate their president and his legacy in the first term.”

The K-CLA has proposed to remand the current first-takes-all system, saying that, “a runoff system should be adopted to enhance the democratic legitimacy of the president and give the right of choice to the people.”

The draft report on the constitutional amendment added that “The acting president in a presidential government should be a person like a vice-president who is elected by the people and has democratic legitimacy.”

The Korean Constitutional Law Association is opposed to the adoption of the parliamentary government, saying that, “Public opinion prefers a complementary form of the current presidential government system to the parliamentary government system.”

will71@donga.com