Blue House: Four-Year Term Presidential System Most Acceptable to Public

The Blue House stated on August 14 that a "four-year term presidential system" that strengthens the National Assembly's authority has the highest level of public acceptance regarding President Lee Jae-myung's plans for constitutional reform. This reaffirmation comes after remarks from People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-ho, who indicated that President Lee is open to pursuing a decentralized constitutional reform even if it means shortening his term.

A Blue House official spoke with reporters at the Chunchugwan, saying, "We empathize with the issues surrounding the imperial presidency and believe that a four-year term presidential system with enhanced National Assembly authority is the most acceptable to the public."

The official clarified, "This is not a parliamentary system but rather a way to address the limitations of the imperial presidency through a term system." They also noted that they are not specifically referring to a decentralized presidential system.

The Blue House identified the National Assembly as the main body for pursuing constitutional reform. The official emphasized, "Constitutional amendments require the agreement of more than 200 members of the National Assembly, so it is preferable for discussions and initiatives to occur within the Assembly. The President has consistently stated that reforms should be pursued through consensus."

Earlier, during a golf meeting with President Lee in early July, lawmaker Kim Tae-ho proposed a decentralized constitutional reform, to which President Lee reportedly responded that he believes constitutional amendments should be pursued even if it means shortening his term.

According to Kim, President Lee dismissed opposition claims that the constitutional reform is aimed at extending terms or enabling long-term rule, stating, "There is a required voting threshold in the National Assembly for constitutional amendments, so if the People Power Party opposes it, it cannot pass."

While the Blue House previously stated that it is difficult to confirm the President's private schedule and remarks, it has now clarified that the direction of the constitutional reform is a four-year term presidential system.

As the Blue House outlines its constitutional reform plans, President Lee's approval rating has fallen to its lowest level since taking office.

A survey conducted by Realmeter from August 3 to 7, commissioned by the Energy Economy Newspaper, found that President Lee's approval rating dropped by 2.6 percentage points to 43.3%. This marks the lowest figure since his inauguration and represents a decline for four consecutive weeks.

Negative evaluations of his performance rose by 2.5 percentage points to 53.0%, surpassing positive evaluations by 9.7 percentage points. The phenomenon of negative evaluations exceeding positive ones, known as a "dead cross," has continued for two weeks.

In a separate survey conducted from August 6 to 7 among 1,007 voters, the Democratic Party recorded a support rate of 44.6%. This is the first time the Democratic Party's support has surpassed President Lee's approval rating by 1.3 percentage points. In the previous survey, President Lee's approval rating was 45.9%, while the Democratic Party's was 45.1%, indicating a reversal in just one week.

The margin of error for the presidential approval rating survey is ±2.0 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 4.0%. The margin of error for the party support survey is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 3.4%. Both surveys were conducted using a random automated response method, and further details can be found on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.