President Roh Moo-hyun's proposal to introduce a two-term presidency will likely fail to materialize, as the number of lawmakers who approve of his idea falls short of the required majority, a survey suggested Wednesday.
Opposition parties have criticized Roh's surprise announcement televised nationwide on Tuesday, in which he said Korea would be better to adopt a four-year presidential term with the possibility of reelection for a second term instead of the current single five-year term.
Roh's initiative needs approval by a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly before it can be put on a referendum to take effect.
According to the survey conducted among lawmakers by Yonhap News Agency, 51 percent of the respondents, or 83 lawmakers, backed Roh's idea, while 59 lawmakers, or 36 percent of the respondents, were against it and 20 expressed reservations.
The survey was of 162 lawmakers in the 296-member Assembly who were available for a response, while others were on business trips or refused to respond.
Asked if they thought the revision was possible within Roh's term, which ends in February next year, the majority, or 55 percent, said "no."
Polls show the majority of Koreans support his idea of a two-term presidency but disapprove of the fact that he made the surprise announcement just 11 months before the presidential election.
Roh said the single-term system, adopted in 1987 to prevent military leaders from extending power, doesn't now meet with demands of the country's democratic culture, which needs political continuity.
It will also save national energy and expenses for elections, he said, as presidential and parliamentary elections will take place simultaneously. Nationwide polls have taken place every few years.
If the system changes, Roh himself cannot seek reelection after he steps down in February next year.
With a comfortable lead in support ratings and likely to win December's election, the conservative GNP denounced Roh as seeking to salvage his poor ratings by proposing a big agenda and urged him to relay the issue to the next government.
The GNP's main presidential hopefuls -- former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye, former GNP chairwoman -- will beat any rival from the ruling Uri Party, polls have suggested.
The main opposition GNP holds 127 seats in the Assembly, far more than the one third required to turn down a bill. The ruling Uri Party holds 139 seats and the rest are shared by minor opposition parties and independents.
Seoul, Jan. 10 (Yonhap News)
Roh's proposal to create two-term presidency unlikely to materialize: survey of lawmakers |
