South Korea's Lee called for constitutional revision led by the National Assembly

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said on November 4 that the Constitution is outdated and that the National Assembly should lead any revision through bipartisan agreement, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.

Lee made the remarks at a lunch meeting at Cheong Wa Dae with the leadership of the Parliamentarian's Society, an association of former lawmakers. He said the current Constitution is "somehow like a cloth that does not fit contemporary society," according to Kang.

Lee noted that a constitutional revision led by the president may not be welcomed by the public. He also cited the "high barrier" of the two-thirds lawmaker consent required to revise the Constitution, saying the most desirable way would be for the National Assembly to revise it through a bipartisan agreement.

The South Korean Constitution has remained unchanged since its last revision in 1987. Lee has called for a shift from the current single five-year presidential term to a four-year, two-term system through a constitutional revision.

The National Assembly, where Lee's Democratic Party holds a majority, put a constitutional amendment bill to a vote in May, but the bill was scuttled amid an opposition boycott.