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President Lee Jae-myung listens to remarks during the 42nd Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex in Sejong on Sept. 16. / Source: Yonhap News

The South Korean government on Tuesday confirmed 123 major policy tasks for President Lee Jae-myung’s five-year term, placing constitutional reform for a four-year, two-term presidency at the top of the agenda.

The package includes a nationwide referendum on the proposed reform, to be held no later than 2028, alongside sweeping power institution overhauls such as the separation of investigation and prosecution, abolition of the Defense Security Command and the police bureau, and tighter controls on martial law.

Other highlights include the establishment of an independent AI ecosystem and “AI highways” to propel Korea into the world’s top three in artificial intelligence, as well as expanding R&D spending to 5% of total government expenditure.

Presiding over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex in Sejong, Lee finalized the five-year state management plan drafted by the National Policy Planning Committee last month.

“Today, we established a management plan for our government’s policy agenda,” Lee said. “As president for all citizens, I will use these 123 tasks—reflecting the people’s will—as a compass to transform lives and ensure Korea leads on the global stage.”

The plan is built on five national goals under the vision of “A nation owned by the people, a happy Korea together”: unifying politics, driving innovative economy, balanced growth, a robust society, and diplomacy and security centered on national interest.

The political reform goal includes discussion of constitutional changes to adopt the four-year two-term presidency and a runoff system. The government is reviewing options to hold a referendum alongside the 2026 local elections or the 2028 general elections, should the National Assembly draft an amendment bill.

Under the “innovation economy” goal, the government pledged to advance AI, bio-health, and strategic industries, innovate semiconductors and secondary batteries, accelerate energy transition, create a ₩100 trillion-plus National Growth Fund, and institutionalize the digital asset industry.

On diplomacy and security, the plan envisions upgrading the “Korean three-axis defense system” and transferring wartime operational control during Lee’s term. Balanced growth initiatives include completing Sejong as the administrative capital, launching a second wave of public institution relocations, and developing new hubs for jobs and innovation.

For a stronger society, tasks include cutting industrial accidents to OECD levels, legislating a phased extension of the legal retirement age, boosting K-culture exports to ₩50 trillion, and attracting 30 million inbound tourists.