South Korea’s government has proposed a four-year, two-term presidency as a key element of the constitutional amendment that President Moon Jae-in is pushing to improve the balance of power in the east Asian country.

Cho Kuk, senior presidential secretary for legal affairs, said it was time for the country to amend the constitution to allow the two-term presidency as the current five-year single-term presidency hails from the past era of long dictatorship. The presidential Blue House also proposed lowering the legal voting age from the current 19 to 18 in accordance with global standards. 

“It is time for us to implement the two-term four-year presidency [pending reelection] in order to enable responsible politics and stable management of national affairs amid the increased political awareness of the public,” Mr Cho told a news conference on Thursday.