South Korean President Moon Jae-in is proposing that the powers of his office be weakened and the voting age be lowered in a package of constitutional refo
SEOUL – South Korean President Moon Jae-in is proposing that the powers of his office be weakened and the voting age be lowered in a package of constitutional reforms, while allowing the head of state to be re-elected.
South Korea is a vibrant democracy, but its executive branch is extremely powerful, giving rise to a winner-takes-all politics that critics say enables corruption while reducing representation for opposition voices.
In last year’s election Moon campaigned on a promise to reform the constitution for the first time in three decades.
The vote was a by-election to choose a successor to his ousted predecessor, Park Geun-hye, who was toppled over a wide-ranging corruption scandal that exposed shady links between big business and politics.
Prosecutors are now seeking a 30-year jail sentence for her, and her own predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, was arrested last week in a separate inquiry.
Moon’s plan has to be approved by parliament before being put to a referendum in June, and its centerpiece measure would see the country’s single five-year presidency be reduced to a four-year term, with one opportunity to run for re-election.
