President Lee: "Pursue Constitutional Amendment in Next Local Elections, General Election"... Reflecting May 18 Spirit, Proposes 4-Year Single Term

President Lee Jae-myung stated during a roundtable meeting in Gwangju on April 24, 2025, that since constitutional amendment is not directly linked to survival rights, there is time to spare, noting it could be addressed as early as the local elections next June or by the following general election.

The Government Policy Planning Committee included a constitutional amendment for a 4-year single term for the president in the five-year state operations plan during a Cabinet meeting in May 2025. In the same month, as the revision of the National Referendum Act passed the National Assembly, a one-point amendment was pushed with the goal of holding it simultaneously with the local elections in June.

Discussions proceeded under the proposal of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, and on April 3, 2026, an agreement was reached among six political parties. However, in the plenary vote on May 7, 2026, the vote failed to be established as it did not meet the required quorum of two-thirds of incumbent members.

Accordingly, the ruling party's plan to hold a constitutional amendment referendum alongside the local elections in June was not realized, leaving the situation where a time must be found to re-discuss the amendment separate from the election schedule.