PPP Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok speaks during the Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday morning.
PPP Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok speaks during the Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Thursday morning.

The People Power Party on Thursday criticized President Lee Jae Myung's remark on "term limits," calling it an attempt to dodge the question. The party also demanded the resignation of nominees for the second Cabinet reshuffle under the Lee Jae Myung administration, calling them unqualified.

PPP Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok said Thursday that despite President Lee's remarks Wednesday, "No one will believe anything the president says anymore, but he still has not said there will be no shortcut constitutional amendment for a second term, or that he will not seek reelection."

He said, "Rather than answering the question about whether he will seek another term, when asked why he travels abroad so often, President Lee replied, 'My term is clearly limited under the Constitution.'" He then asked, "How long do we have to keep listening to the president dodge questions?"

He added, "He probably wanted to say, 'If we're talking about constitutional reform, my term is clearly limited, so a shortcut constitutional amendment is absolutely necessary if I want to serve another term,' but he cut off the second half and only said the first part."

PPP Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik wrote on Facebook, "That the president's term is clearly limited under the current Constitution is a fact even a child knows. We are asking him to promise not to change that, but he keeps giving irrelevant answers."

He continued, "President Lee's remarks are nothing but wordplay that has not changed from his existing stance at all. We now know full well that he simply cannot bring himself to say he will not seek reelection or that he will stand trial, so stop mocking the public with wordplay."

The party continued to demand the resignation of ministerial nominees ahead of their confirmation hearings. Jang said, "The withdrawal of the indictment and the leftist cartel — this mess happened because they tried to use the Cabinet reshuffle as a tool of dictatorship. If the hearings go forward, they will only further expose Lee Jae Myung's dark intentions. In the end, this reshuffle will become the administration's grave."

Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik said, "Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, Defense Minister nominee Kang Sin-cheol, Land Minister nominee Hong Ji-seon and Gender Equality and Family Minister nominee Yong Hye-in are all unqualified. There is no need for them to go through confirmation hearings," calling for their resignations.

Regarding Kim, he said, "Lee Jae Myung publicly vowed to ruin anyone involved in share price manipulation, yet he is determined to appoint someone implicated in such a case as justice minister." He added, "This is likely because President Lee fears that if he cannot erase the charges through Kim, the point man for withdrawing the indictment, he himself will be the one ruined."

Regarding the real estate controversies surrounding Kang and Hong, he said, "At this point, one has to wonder whether there are bonus points for real estate speculation in Cabinet appointments."

Regarding Yong, he said, "I thought it was a smoke screen, but it turned out to be a flare." "She entered the National Assembly not through the public's choice but through a number assigned by the Democratic Party, and served as its vanguard. This lowly system must now be abolished."

He added, "It was also the Democratic Party that helped the Basic Income Party enter the Assembly. The Democratic Party should feel responsible and begin discussions on reform to abolish the semi-mixed-member proportional representation system."


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