President Lee Jae-myung's rejection of a second term at a news conference on the 18th is being read as an attempt to dispel unnecessary suspicion and draw a clear line against the opposition's political offensive. His request that the National Assembly delete a provision amounting to the withdrawal of indictments from the special counsel bill is seen as a signal that he wants the focus placed on uncovering the truth behind alleged politically motivated indictments. Unlike his earlier news conferences, he set aside humor and concentrated on his message, which analysts said showed he is taking seriously the deterioration in public sentiment reflected in his recent decline in approval ratings.
Lee stressed from his opening remarks that he has "no intention whatsoever of seeking another term." On calls from the opposition for him to renounce a second term, he said, "I thought it was a political offensive designed to create a frame in which I had been planning a second term and then gave it up." He added, "Even so, let me say it firmly once more. I have no intention whatsoever of seeking another term." The remarks explained that his earlier reluctance to state a clear position was not because he was weighing a second term but because he did not want to be drawn into partisan disputes the opposition was inviting.
He nonetheless threw his weight behind the need for constitutional revision. Lee said the 1987 constitution, "born as a product of compromise over the political circumstances of the time, is no longer a suit that fits today's Republic of Korea," adding that revision should come through discussion between the governing and opposition parties and a national consensus. He proposed including the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement and the Bu-Ma Democratic Protests in the constitution's preamble, strengthening basic rights, dispersing some presidential powers to the National Assembly and local governments, and introducing consecutive presidential terms.
On consecutive terms, he said the aim was to improve policy consistency and stability in state affairs, making clear that a second term for himself would be impossible. He also dismissed the possibility of adopting a parliamentary cabinet system or a dual executive system as "absurd."
On the contentious matter of withdrawing indictments, he publicly asked the National Assembly to remove the relevant provision from the special counsel bill. His point was that among the investigations and indictments carried out under the Yoon Suk-yeol government there were cases pushed through for political purposes, and while a special counsel should establish the truth, its purpose must lie solely in fact-finding. "Please delete the provisions on transferring or disposing of existing indicted cases from the special counsel's powers and focus only on establishing the truth," Lee said. "I ask that steps be taken so that unnecessary controversy over the withdrawal of indictments does not arise."
Some analysts said, however, that Lee's remarks should be distinguished from a complete foreclosure of the possibility of withdrawing indictments through legal procedures. By declining to grant the special counsel that power, he blocked the political controversy it would generate and attempts to obscure the substance of the matter, while leaving room for the judgment that appropriate follow-up steps should follow naturally if fabricated indictments driven by political purposes are established. Lee's emphasis that "everything can be handled in accordance with reason, law and principle" is read in the same context.
Responding to Chief Justice Jo Hee-de's remarks on judicial independence, Lee offered a critical message, saying, "I think we need to consider why independence is granted to state institutions." With the Presidential Office having returned the request for consent to the appointment of Supreme Court justice nominee Son Bong-gi, whom Jo had recommended, and demanded a fresh recommendation, the comment is read as meaning the Supreme Court should not monopolize authority in the name of judicial independence.
Signs of concern over his approval rating, which has fallen to the 30% range, surfaced throughout the news conference. It had been scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. but was pushed back 30 minutes as Lee refined his remarks until the last minute.
In his opening remarks, Lee spoke candidly, saying, "It is true that I was taken aback by the sudden disappointment and worry among the public after the local elections," and lowered his posture, saying, "It is all because of my shortcomings." His expression was heavier than usual, he cut back on jokes and kept his answers restrained. Repeating words such as "humility" and "communication," he acknowledged shortcomings in his management of state affairs.
The news conference ran about 100 minutes, with Lee taking a total of 14 questions. That is markedly shorter than his first-anniversary news conference in June, which lasted 167 minutes, and his New Year news conference in January, which ran 173 minutes. At those earlier events he kept taking questions past the scheduled time, but this one ended without running much beyond the planned 90 minutes.
