Reform Party Supreme Council Meeting [Seoul=Yonhap News]

More than 6 out of 10 citizens believe that the President must declare an intention to forgo a second consecutive term in order to initiate discussions on constitutional amendment, the Reform Party announced on the 18th, based on the results of its own public opinion poll.

According to the survey conducted by the party’s think tank, the Reform Research Institute, which polled 515 men and women aged 18 or older nationwide the previous day, 65.2% of respondents said the President must first declare that they will not seek re-election to discuss constitutional changes, while 30.1% responded that there is no need to do so.

By age group, the response that the President "must declare" was highest among those in their 20s or younger at 81.8%, followed by 68.8% for those in their 30s, 67.7% for their 40s, 65.4% for those 70 or older, 58.0% for their 50s, and 54.1% for their 60s, marking a majority across all age brackets.

When asked whether a constitutional amendment that adjusts the presidential term to four years and allows for re-election would alleviate the issue of concentrated presidential power, 55.0%—more than half—responded that it "would not alleviate it," while 35.4% said it "would alleviate it," and 9.6% responded that they were "not sure."

Regarding the proposal to decentralize presidential power by transferring the functions of the Board of Audit and Inspection to the National Assembly and allowing the Assembly to recommend the Prime Minister, 52.4% responded that it "would not alleviate it," while 38.1% responded that it "would alleviate it."

Party leader Lee Jun-seok stated, "A majority of the public has judged that the solution put forward by the presidential office is 'not the right answer,'" adding, "If [the President] wishes to begin sincere discussions on constitutional amendment, the first step is to clearly express an intention to forgo a second term."

This public opinion poll was conducted using an automated ARS system via wireless RDD. The margin of error is ±4.5% at a 95% confidence level, with a response rate of 3.99%.