Posted February. 27, 2006 03:00,
A term of office, regardless of length, is meaningless if elections are held in the middle of it, said President Roh while climbing Mt. Bukhan with Cheong Wa Dae correspondents yesterday to mark the third anniversary of his inauguration.
Personally, I feel the tenure of the office of the presidency, five years, is long. It is not desirable for elections to take place too often during that time if the president, the government, and the National Assembly are to work properly within the framework of a five-year plan, he said.
Rohs remarks have generated interest because they raised the possibility of revising the constitution so that that the presidential elections five-year cycle will coincide with the election of members for the National Assembly and local elections, both of which elect representatives on four-year cycles.
Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan said as a response to National Assembly questions on this issue to the government on February 22, It is very confusing to have a five-year single-term system applicable to the presidency, while National Assembly members have four-year terms of office, and while local elections occur between the elections of members for National Assembly. It is time to improve the current system through the amendment of the constitution.
Regarding this, some people said this suggests that a push for the revision of the constitution might start in earnest after harmonizing opinions of senior officials in the ruling party.
However, as the Grand National Party is negative about discussing an amendment of the constitution before the presidential election, the prospect for the revision of the constitution is up in the air.
But after mountain climbing, President Roh played down the meaning in a lunch meeting, saying, In the overall political situation, revising the Constitution is beyond the Presidents power. It is not opportune for the President to make an issue of and proceed with the amendment of the constitution. It is not atop my priority list.
Roh made it clear that he will put the settlement of polarization in the society and the conclusion of the free trade agreement between Korea and the U.S. on the top priority list, and said that those two tasks will be very daunting, and that the next two years may be as turbulent as the past three.