Speaker's presidential re-election comments draw swift pushback from many sides, including Blue House 

After the National Assembly speaker's remarks on a constitutional revision allowing presidential re-election sparked controversy, the Blue House and ruling party scrambled to contain the fallout and make clear that any such amendment would not apply to the current president.

When asked about a constitutional amendment allowing a presidential re-election, National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik said “It is premature to discuss that now” but added, “Ultimately, it is a matter of public opinion and the choice of the people, who hold sovereign power,” during a press conference on Tuesday.

Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik moved quickly to clarify the issue Wednesday, saying, “The president has made clear that Korea’s constitutional system does not allow it, the public would not readily accept it and it is realistically impossible.”

Kang also pointed to Article 128, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution, which states that constitutional amendments extending a president's term or allowing presidential re-election do not apply to the sitting president.

“Article 128, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution was a historic consensus that we must uphold, and it must remain unshaken,” Kang added. “The President and the presidential office are already fully occupied with delivering results. With housing policy, stock market conditions and the economy affecting people’s livelihoods [and] all demanding urgent attention, the presidential office has no time to spend on an unnecessary and inappropriate debate.”

Kang also criticized what he described as efforts to politicize the issue.

“Speaker Cho has clarified his remarks, and the president has clearly said that such a change is impossible,” Kang said. “We deeply regret attempts to drag the president into a political controversy and obstruct efforts to revive the economy.”

Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, rejected speculation that Cho had coordinated his remarks with the presidential office.

“Some are advancing what amounts to a conspiracy theory, claiming the presidential office was involved,” Hong said on an MBC radio program Wednesday morning.

“But during the president’s luncheon with the ruling and opposition party leaders on April 7, he pointed out that the opposition held enough seats to block a constitutional amendment and that such a change was impossible under the current Constitution.”

Hong added, “We considered issuing a statement from the presidential office [after the speaker’s remarks], but ultimately felt it would be better for the speaker’s office to explain.”

Candidates running in the Democratic Party's (DP) Aug. 17 leadership election also distanced themselves from the National Assembly speaker's remarks.

“It seems Speaker Cho Jung-sik was caught off guard by a loaded question from reporters,” Jung Chung-rae, one of the candidates, said on a CBS radio program on Wednesday. “It is something that's impossible under Article 128 of the Constitution.”

Song Young-gil, another candidate, also stressed that a sitting president would not be covered by such an amendment.

“The National Assembly speaker’s remarks leave room for misunderstanding,” Song told reporters. “They were inappropriate.”

Candidate Kim Min-seok also said it was unrealistic in a Facebook post on the same day.

“It is constitutionally impossible,” Kim wrote. “The president has repeatedly confirmed that, and the National Assembly speaker, presidential chief of staff and senior presidential secretary for political affairs have all confirmed it. It is neither right nor necessary to inflate the issue any further.”

The DP’s floor leadership also sought to quell the controversy by citing the Constitution.

“I want to be clear about the controversy over extending the presidential term,” DP Supreme Council member Kang Deuk-gu said during a party leadership meeting Wednesday. “Extending the sitting president’s term is not a subject for constitutional revision. There is no reason for this to remain controversial.”

The National Assembly speaker was reportedly bewildered by the rapidly spreading controversy.

“Speaker Cho was genuinely taken aback yesterday afternoon,” acting DP leader and floor leader Han Byung-do said at the end of the leadership meeting. “He was merely stating the general principles and basic procedures of constitutional revision, and the People Power Party’s all-out offensive that treats the president’s re-election as a foregone conclusion is an unreasonable and groundless assertion.”

Lawmakers outside the party leadership also emphasized that any constitutional amendment would not apply to the current president.

“If the Constitution is to be revised, the five-year, single-term presidency should be changed to a four-year, two-term limit system, as previous constitutional reform proposals have suggested,” Rep. Seo Young-kyo, chair of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said on a SBS radio program. Seo also added that such a change would not apply to President Lee.

Five-term Rep. Park Jie-won of the DP also called to “end unnecessary disputes and controversy theories.”

“The National Assembly speaker is well aware of the constitutional provision barring such a change from applying to the sitting president,” Rep. Park wrote on Facebook. “I believe his remarks were a general statement made while emphasizing the need for constitutional revision.”

The National Assembly speaker issued a late-night clarification Tuesday.

“A constitutional amendment allowing the sitting president to seek re-election is not under discussion,” Cho wrote on Facebook at around 11:30 p.m.

“Article 128, Paragraph 2 of the Constitution stipulates that even if the Constitution is amended to extend a president’s term or alter the rules on re-election, the change does not apply to the president in office at the time of the amendment,” Cho wrote. “This must be respected.”

Cho added, “I regret that my remarks, contrary to my intentions, caused misunderstanding and controversy.”

President Lee had also made the same point while campaigning for president in 2025.

He proposed a constitutional amendment establishing a four-year, two-term limit presidency at a ceremony commemorating the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement in May last year. Lee then told reporters that the Constitution made clear that such a change could not apply to the sitting president. 

“The supplementary provisions of the current Constitution explicitly state that it cannot apply to the president in office at the time,” Lee said.

Rep. Woo Won-shik, who proposed a constitutional amendment in April while serving as National Assembly speaker, also noted that Lee had ruled out benefiting from such a change.

“The president said it himself,” Woo said. “Re-election is impossible.”

BY SON SUNG-BAE, HA JUN-HO [[email protected]]