President Moon’s last year

Moon and his wife, Kim Jung-sook, casting their early votes for the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election in Seoul. — AP

AS of this writing, polls were open in by-elections for mayor in Seoul and Busan. The election offered a chance to assess public opinion only 13 months before the next presidential election in May 2022. President Moon Jae-in’s approval ratings have dropped recently, suggesting that his ruling Democratic Party may face strong headwinds moving toward 2022.

Since 1987, presidents in South Korea have been elected for a single five-year term. The term limit came from a desire to check the power of the president after almost 40 years of authoritarian leaders. The desire to check the power of leaders has led to term limits in democracies around the world for executive and legislative offices.