SEOUL (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae In on Monday (March 26) proposed weakening the powers of his office and lowering the voting age in a package of constitutional reforms, while allowing the head of state to be re-elected..
SEOUL (AFP) — South Korean President Moon Jae In on Monday (March 26) proposed weakening the powers of his office and lowering the voting age 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 presidency is extremely powerful, giving rise to a winner-takes-all politics which 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, 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 centrepiece measure would see the country’s single five-year presidency be reduced to a four year term, with one opportunity to stand for re-election.
