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The result of the survey revealed that the majority of South Koreans disapprove of the current single five year term, with around 50.3 percent voicing their support for other types of government. While 36.3 percent of those asked replied that the current system was the best fit for the Korea, 33.7 percent favored the U.S. two term system, 12.4 percent approved of the UK system, and a minority of 4.3 percent supported a power sharing system.

The results were collected by Millward Brown Media Research, who performed a telephone survey last month on around 1,000 respondents. The results also showed a noticeable trend of men being unhappy with the current single term system, with only 32 percent of men supporting the current system compared to the 40.5 percent of women who supported it. Criticism of the current system was mainly based around the issue that no long term changes can ever be achieved due to government switching every five years, leading to inconsistency.

In addition the survey also revealed that over 50 percent of those surveyed approved of President Lee, further cementing the popularity of the business man turned politician. Furthermore the survey revealed that many Koreans believe now is the opportune moment for rewiring the constitution to allow longer terms. While President Lee is now in the latter half of his term in office his approval rating is considerably higher than many expected it to be. In comparison, the approval rating of previous Presidents had hit all time lows by the time they had reached the same point in their tenure. Instead it appears that Lee’s ratings suffered a distinct dip almost immediately after he was settled into office - the U.S. beef protests of the summer of 2008 having a particularly adverse effect on his popularity. However Lee’s approval ratings have rapidly improved since.

However the survey also revealed another prevalent trend; wide spread apathy. In recent years the turnout at elections has steadily dropped, with the 2008 election seeing the lowest recorded turnout of 46.0 percent of the population. Evidently younger citizens are failing to take an interest in politics and the issues at hand. Indeed, during the survey respondents were asked if they favored amending the constitution. Almost 40 percent declined to comment, one instance of the growing political apathy. This apathy towards an amendment has been linked by some critics to the failure of lawmakers to draw up guidelines for such a change. While both the ruling and opposition party have agreed on a national referendum by 2012, as put forward by the late President Roh Moo-hyun in early 2007, actual plans for putting this into effect have yet to materialize.

Despite the lack of action on the issue by politicians it is evident that the public wants change and furthermore they want to see deep running corrections to the constitution. Around 60 percent of those surveyed favored a deep rooted overhaul of the constitution, including extending the number of presidential terms, compared with a minority who favored merely altering the current single term system. Other pressing issues that people are requesting the government to address include the restructuring of electoral districts and basic rights for voters.

In the wake of the 1987 pro-democracy protests the current constitution was devised, implementing direct voting and a single term presidency to prevent authoritarian regimes from taking hold of the nation. The National Assembly was also given greater power to keep the President in check. Yet 23 years on it seems that the situation is quite different and in the current context of a globalizing economy policies for the long run are more of a concern.