January 23, 2025
Seoul – Suspended President Yoon Seok-yeol, who was formally arrested last week for declaring martial law and faces rebellion charges, had positioned himself as a reformer determined to depose South Korea’s entrenched “imperial president.”
In March 2022, about 50 days before taking office, Mr. Yoon promised to “return the Blue House, a symbol of imperial power, to the people” and formally formulated a controversial plan to move the presidential palace to the Yongsan Defense Ministry compound.
Yet Yoon's presidency has become emblematic of the system he promised to dismantle, as highlighted by his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law in his Yongsan office.
Mr Yoon's remarks in self-defense at the Constitutional Court on Tuesday once again demonstrated his understanding of presidential power.
“In the Republic of Korea, the National Assembly and the media have undisputed supremacy in the hierarchy, far exceeding the power of the president,” Yoon said during his 6 1/2 minutes of direct debate, referring to South Korea's official name.
Yoon has placed himself at the center of the debate over South Korea's presidential powers.
Yoon's declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, has been interpreted as a reflection of the “imperial presidential system” – a lingering remnant of the Yu-shin Constitutional Era under Park Chung-hee. The 1972 Yooshin Constitution allowed Park to consolidate power, remove checks and balances, and institutionalize one-man rule—an authoritarian legacy that lasted until democratization and the 1987 constitutional reform.
The 1987 constitution, the last amendment to date, restored pre-Yu Shin democratic principles but largely retained broad presidential powers.
Respected senior leaders – including the former key aide who propelled Yoon to power – and experts alike declared that constitutional reform aimed at limiting the powers of the imperial president was no longer optional: it must happen now.
“The key issue we must solve is how to decentralize the imperial concentration of presidential power. We need to actively work to reduce and redistribute presidential power in a meaningful way,” said the former interim leader of the ruling People's Power Party and Yun's presidential campaign manager Veteran politician Kim Jong-in said at a forum hosted by South Korea's president. This month, near the foundation think tank.
The impeachment of three South Korean presidents highlights the erosion of the stability of the presidency.
Nearly every South Korean president — Chun Doo-hwan, Roh Tae-woo, Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye — has faced jail time or legal investigation after leaving office, and abuses of power, corruption and scandal have dogged South Korea's presidents for decades. Even Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung, while not under direct investigation, have had their legacies tarnished by scandals involving their children. Roh Moo-hyun took his own life while facing a family corruption investigation.
“South Korea's current democratic crisis stems from the actions of its actors, but the solution to this problem can only be achieved through institutional reform,” said Lee Ka-beom, former chairman of President Yoon's Inaugural Speech Preparation Committee.
“The direction that the constitutional revision should aim at in terms of power structure is fundamental reform of the current presidential system,” said Lee, who is also an honorary professor of business and technology management at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.
Jang Young-soo, a professor at Korea University School of Law, agreed, “If the president's powers were more restricted and subject to rational supervision, incidents like this could have been avoided.”
Despite decades of abuses of presidential power, South Korea still faces the challenge of implementing meaningful institutional reforms.
The 1987 constitution, born out of the June democratic struggles of that year, introduced direct election of the president and a five-year term to curb the concentration of power, while establishing a constitutional court to strengthen balance.
However, the legacy of the Yunobu Constitution, which institutionalized the imperial presidency, remains, imbuing today's presidential office with outsized powers and underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive reform.
Kim Jong-in said that the 1987 amendment basically ignored the issue of reallocating the greatly expanded presidential powers under the “Yuxin Constitution”.
“Although some minor adjustments have been made, such as the establishment of a constitutional court and the modification of certain articles, the basic power structure of the Yoshin Constitution actually remains intact,” Kim said.
Kang Won-taek, a professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Seoul National University, emphasized that “(the 1987 Constitution) is not a forward-looking document, but a document that will be regarded as a democratization before returning to the Yushin era.”
“Basically, the rules surrounding the presidency have not changed.”
The President of South Korea has broad powers not only in the executive branch, but also in the legislative and judicial branches.
In the legislative branch, the president's influence is mainly exercised through control of the ruling party.
In the judicial branch, the president has significant power over senior leadership appointments. This includes the appointment of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court with the consent of Parliament, and the appointment of 13 other Supreme Court Justices on the recommendation of the Chief Justice, without the need for legislative approval.
The Constitutional Court consists of nine judges, also appointed by the President, three of whom are appointed directly by the President, three who are recommended by Parliament, and three who are appointed by the Chief Justice. The President also elects the President of the Constitutional Court, subject to the consent of Parliament. In addition, the president directly appoints the attorney general to oversee key investigations, further extending his influence over the judiciary.
“The painful reality we are experiencing this time is that a poorly chosen leader can plunge an entire country into crisis,” Professor Kang said. “Therefore, the direction of reform must focus on redistributing the concentrated power held by individuals.”
power of judicial appointments
One widely discussed approach is to remove the president’s power over appointments to the judicial and constitutional courts.
Kim Jong-in said: “My suggestion is that the appointments of Supreme Court judges, chief justices, Constitutional Court judges and Constitutional Court presidents should be approved by at least two-thirds of the National Assembly. “Some people believe that this will ensure that only the most qualified candidates can be selected for these positions.”
A group of legal and political scholars affiliated with the Kang Won-ryong Foundation's Korea Dialogue Institute also unveiled a proposed “new constitution” on Monday aimed at decentralizing presidential power.
The draft retains the five-year presidential term but requires a two-thirds majority of the National Assembly to approve all Constitutional Court judges nominated by an independent commission, limiting the president's appointment power.
Some have advocated limiting presidential immunity under Article 84 of South Korea's constitution, which protects the president from prosecution except in cases of rebellion or treason.
Jang Young-kwon, a professor at Hongik University School of Law, emphasized that “South Korea's current constitutional structure is highly fragmented and flawed. The most critical problem is the lack of accountability for those in power.”
“While it grants powers and rewards generously, the mechanism for implementing penalties is unusually weak. To address this problem, the law must ensure that penalties are as severe as rewards and strengthen accountability,” Zhang said. “In South Korea, immunity from prosecution granted to the president has become an important point of contention in recent debates.”
The push for a four-year presidential term with the possibility of re-election does not appear to be gaining traction.
Jang Young-soo noted, “To view this problem merely as a flaw of a five-year presidential term and to assume that it can be solved by adopting a four-year term followed by re-election reflects misplaced optimism.”
“There are serious concerns that, in the reality of the imperial presidency, a four-year reelection system might work similarly to a single eight-year term, and presidential power might be even more concentrated,” he said.
Experts stress that South Korea's first successful constitutional amendment since 1987 will require unity around a single, focused goal.
“I don't think this issue has ever been felt so acutely or so severely, rising to the level of national attention,” Kang said. “That's why I believe the chances of success are higher than ever — and why I firmly believe it must happen.”
Kang warned that trying to address everything at once would be like opening a “Pandora's box,” sparking endless debate and draining the momentum needed for constitutional reform.
“That’s why I think it’s critical to focus on one core issue: redistributing power that is excessively concentrated in one person. Focusing on that single goal is, in my view, the key to achieving meaningful reform.
Jang Young-soo advocated a focused, phased approach to constitutional revision, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing consensus-based reforms.
“There are too many problems that have accumulated over the past 38 years to be solved at once. Trying to do so will probably fail again,” he said. “Instead, we should start with issues that can garner broad public and bipartisan support. More complex issues that require further consideration may arise in subsequent waves of reform. This phased approach greatly improves the likelihood of successfully amending the Constitution. sex.
Reform as a campaign promise
Some have stressed that the next batch of presidential candidates must have a strong commitment to pursue constitutional reform, given the tight timeframe and the improbability of constitutional reform before a potential presidential election. If the Constitutional Court upholds Yoon Eun-hye's impeachment, an election must be held within 60 days.
Kim Jong-un said: “The question of whether constitutional reform will occur ultimately depends on whether the next presidential candidate handles this issue with true integrity and a vision for the country's future. If an early election is held this year, the most critical element of constitutional reform will depend on It depends on the emergence of a candidate who explicitly promised to pursue this goal during the campaign.
Lee Sang-soo, a former labor minister and current representative of the Alliance for the Advancement of Constitutional Revision, said: “It is unrealistic to expect that the president will carry out constitutional reforms one after another after taking office.”
“Once elected, a president's priorities and views tend to change. Therefore, constitutional reform must be directly linked to the next presidential election, with candidates submitting their proposals to public judgment,” Lee said.
The consensus is that the South Korean presidency may not be able to function effectively without constitutional reform.
“The presidential system aims to ensure stable and accountable governance by providing a fixed term of office for which the president bears full responsibility,” Kang said.
In less than 40 years of democratization, South Korea has impeached three presidents, one of whom's ouster is still pending – a stark contrast to the United States, which has had four formal impeachments involving three presidents. No president has ever been so impeached.
“I don't believe this is going to end,” Kang said.
“If we don't make significant changes now, our society may face a serious political crisis. South Korea's political system no longer works the way it used to.
