Approximately 60% of respondents in a public opinion poll expressed opposition to a constitutional amendment that would shorten the next president’s term to three years. Over 70% of Democratic Party supporters were against this type of constitutional amendment.
According to a survey conducted by the South Korean polling agency Research View on Sunday and Monday, commissioned by KPI News, 59.5% of respondents opposed the plan to amend the constitution by shortening the next presidential term to three years. Support stood at 28.9%, while 11.6% chose “Don’t know/Others.”
In South Korean political circles, a proposal was previously made to shorten the next presidential term to three years and hold the general and presidential elections simultaneously in 2028. This constitutional amendment would prevent power conflicts between the executive (president) and legislative (National Assembly) branches in advance, but it has not received strong support.
By political affiliation, among Democratic Party supporters, opposition (71.5%) was about 3.9 times higher than support (18.1%). Even among People Power Party supporters, opposition (49.9%) outweighed support (37.9%). By ideological orientation, the opposition held the majority among conservatives, progressives, and centrists. The opposition rate was 67.3% among progressives, 62.1% among centrists, and 53.3% among conservatives.
When asked about the biggest threat to the Democratic Party in the event of an early presidential election, 37.0% cited “Lee Jae Myung’s legal risks.” This was followed by “Concerns about unilateral dominance if in power” (17.1%) and “Internal divisions due to aggressive remarks and actions by pro-Lee factions” (10.6%).
Regarding the biggest threat to the People Power Party, 27.2% cited the “Yoon Seok Yeol risk, which led to a constitutional disruption.” This was followed by “Conservative division due to conflicts over impeachment” (19.1%), “Isolation due to alignment with far-right figures such as Jeon Kwang Hoon” (17.5%), and “The Myeong Tae Kyun Gate involving a presidential candidate” (16.9%).
In the “Suitability for Broad Conservative Presidential Candidate” poll, Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon Soo led with 25.0%. Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung Min followed with 14.4%, former People Power Party leader Han Dong Hoon with 8.5%, Seoul Mayor Oh Se Hoon with 7.4%, Daegu Mayor Hong Jun Pyo with 6.2%, and lawmaker Ahn Cheol Soo with 5.9%.
For “Suitability for Broad Progressive Presidential Candidate,” Democratic Party leader Lee Jae Myung led with 48.0%. Former Standing Adviser of the New Future Democratic Party Lee Nak Yon had 7.3%, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong Yeon 5.5%, former Prime Minister Kim Boo Kyum 5.0%, and former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyung Soo 1.9%.
Meanwhile, this survey was conducted through an ARS (Automated Response System) phone survey, with a margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level and a response rate of 4.0%. Refer to the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission’s website for further details.