South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said the country's five-year presidential term is too long as he marked his third anniversary in office amid record-low popularity.
"I think five years is a little too long. I feel that way personally, and isn't that a little too long in terms of the system, too?" Roh told local reporters during a mountain walk on Sunday marking his three years in office.
Roh expressed concern that the cycles of presidential, parliamentary and local elections make a president face at least two nationwide polls during his tenure, which are widely viewed as an evaluation of presidential performance, which he argued wasn't really at issue.
Elections
In May, the country will hold nationwide elections to select governors, mayors and municipal council members.
"I hope there won't be elections in the middle of the tenure," Roh said, according to a transcript provided by his office.
"This is a system that makes it very difficult for the president to do his work," he said.
Roh took office in 2003 for a single, five-year term, and the constitution bans him from seeking re-election.
The terms for parliament members and heads of local governments are four years.
But Roh cautioned against interpreting his comments as meaning he is thinking of a constitutional revision.
"It seems it's not a situation where the president can take the initiative in revising the constitution," he said.
For many years, a number of politicians have voiced the need for change in the presidential system, with the most talked-about alternative being reducing the term to four years and permitting the president to seek re-election.
Roh's popularity has been low amid public discontent over stagnant job growth, rising housing prices and unsatisfactory reforms.
An opinion poll earlier this month showed his approval rating tumbled to its lowest level, 22.9 percent, from a record high of 37 percent a year ago.
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