Lee says he has 'no intention whatsoever' of seeking reelection

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday at Cheong Wa Dae that he has no intention whatsoever of seeking reelection. He said his push for a constitutional amendment to allow consecutive presidential terms is separate from his own political future. Lee also defended broader constitutional revision proposals and said the Assembly and the public should lead the process.

Lee said the current Constitution, adopted in 1987, should be revised and called it clothes that no longer fit today’s Korea.

His suggested revisions include adding references to the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Movement and the Busan-Masan Democratic Protests to the preamble, strengthening basic rights, and transferring some presidential powers to the National Assembly and local governments.

Lee’s approval rating was 37 percent in a Gallup Korea poll released Friday, down 1 percentage point from the previous week and the lowest since he took office.

The same poll showed his disapproval rating at 56 percent, up 5 points, and said real estate policy was the most frequently cited reason for a negative assessment, followed by personnel appointments and the economy.

Published Sep 18, 2026 11:04 am KST

Updated Sep 18, 2026 2:52 pm KST

President backs constitutional revision, seeks to defuse controversy over dropping charges

President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that he has “no intention whatsoever” of seeking reelection, drawing a clear line between his push for a constitutional amendment allowing presidents to serve consecutive terms and his own political future.

“Under the Constitution, it is impossible for me to seek reelection through a constitutional amendment and I have repeatedly made clear through various channels that I have never even considered seeking reelection,” Lee said during a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae.

He dismissed demands that he explicitly pledge not to seek another term as a “political offensive,” saying they were intended to create the impression that he had considered reelection before abandoning the idea.

“Nevertheless, I want to make it absolutely clear once again on this occasion,” Lee said. “I have no intention whatsoever of seeking reelection.”

Lee has long advocated revising the Constitution to allow presidents to serve consecutive terms, arguing that such a system would ensure greater policy continuity and stability in state affairs. The proposal has drawn criticism from the opposition, which has questioned whether Lee could seek to benefit personally from such an amendment and demanded that he explicitly rule out serving a second term.

He nevertheless reiterated his support for the revision, calling the current Constitution, adopted in 1987, “clothes that no longer fit today’s Korea.”

Lee cited several areas for possible revision, including adding references to the May 18 Gwangju Democratic Movement and the Busan-Masan Democratic Protests to the preamble, strengthening basic rights, transferring some presidential powers to the National Assembly and local governments and introducing the possibility of a consecutive-term presidency.

He said the Assembly and the public should take the lead in the process, rather than the president, pledging to cooperate if parties could reach an agreement after surveying public opinion.

Lee also sought to distance himself from a separate controversy over calls to drop charges in cases allegedly stemming from politically motivated investigations, including cases involving himself.

He said allegations that prosecutions might be fabricated or politically should be investigated by a special counsel, arguing that having investigative agencies under the president handle them could raise questions about impartiality.

However, he opposed giving special counsels authority over the disposition of cases that have already been indicted.

Lee asked the Assembly to remove provisions concerning the transfer or disposition of existing cases from the proposed special counsel’s mandate and to focus solely on uncovering the facts.

“I regret that the issue has unnecessarily become a political controversy and is obscuring the essence of the matter,” he said, asking lawmakers to avoid further strife over the issue.

The president also struck a contrite tone over a recent decline in his approval ratings, saying he had concluded that the problem ultimately stemmed from his own shortcomings.

“I lacked consideration, attention to detail and communication,” Lee said. He acknowledged that he had at times failed to fully recognize the frustration of people adversely affected by his policies, adding, “Perhaps I did not show enough respect for the public.”

A Gallup Korea poll released Friday put Lee’s approval rating at 37 percent, down 1 percentage point from the previous week and the lowest since he took office. His disapproval rating rose 5 points to 56 percent. Real estate policy was the most frequently cited reason for a negative assessment, followed by personnel appointments and the economy.

The poll was conducted from Tuesday to Thursday through telephone interviews with 1,002 adults aged 18 and older, using randomly selected mobile phone numbers. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level, with a contact rate of 45.4 percent and a response rate of 9.9 percent.

Further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission website.

李在明总统周五在青瓦台表示，他绝无寻求连任的打算。他强调，推动修改宪法允许总统连任与他个人的政治前途无关。李在明还为更广泛的宪法修订提案辩护，并表示国会和公众应主导这一进程。

李表示，现行宪法（1987年通过）应该进行修订，并称其为不再适合当今韩国的“衣服”。

他建议的修改包括在序言中加入对“五一八光州民主运动”和“釜山马山民主抗议”的提及，加强基本权利，并将一些总统权力移交给国会和地方政府。

根据盖洛普韩国周五公布的民意调查，李明博的支持率为37%，比前一周下降了1个百分点，是他上任以来的最低水平。

同一项民意调查显示，他的不支持率上升了 5 个百分点，达到 56%。民调还显示，房地产政策是导致负面评价的最常见原因，其次是人事任命和经济状况。

发布于2026年9月18日上午11:04（韩国标准时间）

更新于2026年9月18日下午2:52（韩国标准时间）

总统支持修改宪法，试图平息撤销指控引发的争议

韩国总统李在明周五在首尔青瓦台举行记者会并发表讲话。（韩联社）

李在明总统周五表示，他“绝无任何”寻求连任的意图，明确地将他推动修改宪法、允许总统连任与他自己的政治前途划清界限。

李在青瓦台举行的新闻发布会上表示：“根据宪法，我不可能通过修改宪法来寻求连任，而且我已经通过各种渠道多次明确表示，我从未考虑过寻求连任。”

他驳斥了要求他明确承诺不再寻求连任的要求，称这是“政治攻击”，并表示这些要求旨在给人一种印象，即他曾经考虑过连任，但后来放弃了这个想法。

“然而，我还是要借此机会再次明确表态，”李说，“我绝无寻求连任的打算。”

李光耀长期以来一直主张修改宪法，允许总统连任，他认为这样的制度能够确保政策的连续性和国家事务的稳定性。这一提议遭到反对派的批评，他们质疑李光耀是否会从这项修正案中谋取私利，并要求他明确排除连任的可能性。

尽管如此，他还是重申了对修改宪法的支持，称现行宪法（1987 年通过）是“不再适合当今韩国的衣服”。

李列举了几个可能需要修改的领域，包括在序言中加入对“五一八光州民主运动”和“釜山马山民主抗议”的提及，加强基本权利，将部分总统权力移交给国会和地方政府，以及引入总统连任的可能性。

他表示，议会和公众应该在这一过程中发挥主导作用，而不是总统，并承诺如果各方在调查民意后能够达成协议，他将予以合作。

李还试图撇清自己与另一场争议的关系，这场争议涉及有人呼吁撤销据称源于政治动机调查的案件指控，其中包括他本人参与的案件。

他表示，有关起诉可能是捏造的或出于政治动机的指控应该由特别检察官进行调查，并认为让总统领导下的调查机构处理这些指控可能会引发人们对公正性的质疑。

然而，他反对赋予特别检察官对已起诉案件的处理权。

李要求国会从拟议的特别检察官的授权范围中删除有关移交或处理现有案件的条款，而只专注于查明事实。

“我感到遗憾的是，这个问题不必要地演变成了一场政治争议，掩盖了问题的本质，”他说道，并要求立法者避免就此问题产生进一步的纷争。

总统还对近期支持率下降表示懊悔，称他认为问题的根源在于他自身的不足。

李说：“我缺乏考虑、对细节的关注和沟通。”他承认，有时他未能充分理解受其政策不利影响的人们的沮丧之情，并补充说：“或许我对公众不够尊重。”

盖洛普韩国周五公布的民调显示，李明博的支持率降至37%，较前一周下降1个百分点，为他上任以来的最低水平。他的反对率则上升5个百分点，达到56%。房地产政策是导致负面评价的最主要原因，其次是人事任命和经济状况。

本次民意调查于周二至周四进行，采用随机抽取的手机号码，通过电话采访了1002名18岁及以上的成年人。在95%的置信水平下，该调查的误差幅度为正负3.1个百分点，联系率为45.4%，回复率为9.9%。

更多详情请访问全国选举调查审议委员会网站。