South Korean president rules out seeking 2nd term

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ruled out seeking a second term even if the country's Constitution is revised to allow it, his office said Wednesday, according to Yonhap News.

The clarification came a day after National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik told reporters that it would be up to the people to decide whether to revise the Constitution to allow an incumbent president to seek another term.

Currently, South Korea's Constitution limits presidents to a single, five-year term.

"Our country's constitutional system does not allow it, the people will not condone it, and it is realistically impossible," Lee was quoted as saying by his chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik.

Lee is currently visiting South America.

"President Lee has said so since before the presidential election, when he was a candidate, and continues to say so," he added.

The speaker's remarks have fueled controversy in part as he is considered a key member of the pro-Lee faction who served as the ruling Democratic Party's secretary-general when Lee was its chairman.