Constitutional change has resurfaced as an election issue as the ruling Saenuri Party’s presidential hopefuls called for the division of state power and revisions to the presidential term.

Lee Jae-oh, former special affairs minister and close aide to President Lee Myung-bak, took the initiative last week as he announced his intent to join the party’s nomination contest.

“The current single-term, monopolistic presidency is the root cause of most corruption scandals involving close presidential aides,” he said in a radio interview on Monday.

He also suggested a dual power system, in which the president would take charge of diplomacy, national defense and unification while the parliament handles domestic affairs.

The idea reflects the reality of the Korean Peninsula, where the head of state needs to focus more on foreign relations to maintain peace, he explained.

Lee pledged to reduce his office term to three years, should he be elected, so that the next presidential and general elections coincide in the same year. Lee followed up on Monday with a forum of legal experts.

While frontrunner Rep. Park Geun-hye has not clarified her position recently, she has in the past supported a shift to a four-year, double-term presidency backed by a vice president.

Rep. Chung Mong-joon, a seven-term lawmaker and another top pro-Lee figure, agreed that a constitutional amendment was necessary to dilute the president’s authority and to reinforce the parliament’s position but was skeptical of the double-term proposal.

“Constitutional revision is needed to distribute power more evenly,” said Chung.

He added that the Assembly should hold full authority over key functions such as the yearly budget planning.

“The idea of holding both parliamentary and presidential elections in the same year, however, may hinder the National Assembly’s independence,” he added.

Yim Tae-hee, former presidential secretary, also joined the queue and acknowledged the need to revise the constitution but remained vague on details.

“It is time that our constitution was adjusted to fit the changes of the times,” Yim said.

Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-soo was the only right-wing contestant to oppose the constitutional revision.

Responses from chairwoman Park’s close aides varied.

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun strongly opposed Lee’s three-year term suggestion, accusing him of trying to cut down on the possible office term of powerful presidential hopeful Rep. Park.

Rep. Lee Hye-hoon, on the other hand, agreed that the current constitution needed revision, giving rise to speculation that Park may be relatively open to change.

The liberal camp largely remained critical of the revision plans.

“Lee’s suggestion is just a gesture to win political benefits for the current ruling camp,” said Moon Jae-in, senior adviser of the main opposition Democratic United Party and former secretary to the late liberal President Roh Moo-hyun.

Former DUP leader Sohn Hak-kyu also said that a constitutional revision should be initiated by the next government, with the general consent of the people.

Observers, however, pointed out that while constitutional revisions have often been debated election topics, they have mostly failed to attract the voters’ interest.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)