President Lee Jae-myung said during a meeting with Korean residents in Mexico City that he would not remain president beyond the end of his current term in June 2030. Lee said there would be no circumstance in which his presidency continues past that point, repeating a position he had already stated publicly when questions were raised about possible constitutional changes and presidential tenure.
The remarks came during Lee's state visit to Mexico and were framed as reassurance to Koreans living there. He said the time available to his administration is limited and that he intends to use that period to carry out promised work. South Korean reporting has treated the statement as another rejection of speculation that a constitutional amendment could be used to extend his own presidency.
The statement does not itself change the Constitution or the legal rules governing presidential terms. Its significance is political: the president has now attached his position to a specific end point while constitutional reform remains part of wider public debate. Future proposals on presidential tenure can therefore be assessed against the position Lee has stated repeatedly, rather than against speculation about his personal plans.