MEXICO CITY — President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to Mexico, said on the 24th that he would "absolutely never stay past June 2, 2030," again dismissing talk of a constitutional amendment allowing him to seek a second term. His remarks came six days after he said at a news conference on the 18th that he had no intention of extending his term.
Speaking at a meeting with members of the Korean community in Mexico City, Lee said the time available to him was strictly limited. "Because the time I can work is precisely limited, I am giving everything I have, saving every minute and second, to accomplish the many tasks and promises I can carry out and wanted to carry out within that limited time," he said. He added: "There will absolutely never be a case of my going past June 2, 2030, so those who are worried about that should not worry."
At a news conference at the Blue House guest house on the 18th, Lee had said that "extending my term through a constitutional amendment is impossible under the constitution," adding, "I have no intention whatsoever of serving another term."
Lee devoted a considerable part of his remarks to the history of Korean immigration to Mexico and the independence movement, using it to describe how difficult reform is. Citing how Korean laborers who came to Mexico in 1905 set aside part of their wages to raise funds for independence despite their own hardship, he said, "Sacrificing yourself for the independence of a homeland that has little direct bearing on your own life is not an easy thing."
"Reform is no easier than putting up money for the independence movement," he said. "There is little immediate benefit to me. Even if you set aside wages to fund the independence movement, your own life does not change directly, does it? Reform is much the same."
He also stressed that those who benefit from existing institutions inevitably resist change fiercely. "The people who lose out when you change a system or change reality are small in number but strong in power," Lee said. "Because the pain of having something taken away is greater, the resistance and pushback are also greater."
He then warned against excessive competition within politics to appear more uncompromising. Citing the collapse of past discussions on revising the most objectionable provisions of the National Security Act, Lee said some "make excessive claims in order to show how uncompromising they are." He added, "Being bold may look impressive, but it is not easy to produce good results in actually creating the desirable situation we want."
"It would be nice to sweep everything away at once, loudly and dramatically, but that is not easy," he said. "As much as possible, it would be better to minimize resistance, minimize pushback, and produce effective, practical and substantive results." With disagreements continuing even within the governing camp over the pace and method of major reform tasks such as prosecution reform, the remarks are seen as reaffirming a governing approach that prioritizes actual results over hard-line slogans.
Lee also said he intends to expand support for overseas Koreans. He said he had instructed diplomatic missions to hold as many meetings as possible with Korean residents to gather needed policies and issues for improvement, noting that "about 2,400 items have been collected." Citing shortages of textbooks and teaching space at Korean-language schools and difficulties in handling administrative requests in Korea, he said, "We are resolving them as they are collected."
On cultural cooperation between Korea and Mexico, he said he had proposed to President Claudia Sheinbaum a joint production of a film or television drama based on the history of early Korean immigration and the independence movement. "She agreed. We decided to try making one," he said.
