[Public Voices] Politics Sunk in 'Judicial Omnipotence'

Kwangjae Lee, Secretary General of the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters

Internal conflicts within the ruling party responsible for national governance are escalating into a series of lawsuits. Lee Jun-seok, former leader of the People Power Party, who secured a partial injunction in the suspension of the Emergency Response Committee's authority, filed an additional injunction request on the 29th of last month to halt the committee's activities. Joo Ho-young, a People Power Party lawmaker who served as the Emergency Response Committee chairman, also submitted a request to the court to suspend the decision to suspend his duties. Concerns are growing that this is causing a regression that deepens the 'judicialization of politics.'

Conservative commentators and the media are also expressing concerns about the court's decisions. Huh Young, Chair Professor at Kyung Hee University Law School, stated, "The court's role is to assess legality, but discussing the undermining of party democracy is an overreach and political interference," expressing discomfort with judicial overreach. Lee Sang-don, Professor Emeritus at Chung-Ang University, criticized, "This injunction ruling is not limited to the People Power Party but marks a serious phase of political extinction where all matters are dragged to the courts."

The root cause of the intensifying judicialization of politics does not lie in the court rulings themselves. Rather, it stems from a third-rate political culture of 'judicial omnipotence' that seeks to resolve important political issues through legal judgments by the courts instead of dialogue and compromise. This situation can be traced back to the 2014 dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party, which ignored calls for evaluation and judgment through elections, and continues today with both ruling and opposition parties competitively submitting complaints to the courts under the pretext of establishing legal order?both examples of political regression.

Nonetheless, the political sphere still attempts to replace politics with 'rule of law' or recklessly engages in actions that easily breed distrust in the judiciary depending on their stance. They repeatedly investigate the political and policy choices of previous administrations, frequently drag politics into the courts, and when unfavorable rulings occur, they turn around and attack the judiciary. Observing such political behavior raises serious concerns about how this turmoil will be navigated.

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, a legal professional, said in a lecture last year, "In law, there are only winners and losers, and the less the law's domain expands, the more mature democracy becomes," appealing to high-ranking officials and politicians to participate in politics through reconciliation and compromise rather than lawsuits and accusations. It is time to end this third-rate judicial omnipotence politics. Political skills that solve problems through public discourse involving dialogue and compromise must be cultivated.

The Chuseok holiday is approaching. This Chuseok, the muddy fight within the ruling party?unprecedented in Korean political history?and the lack of political skills that fuel the judicialization of politics will become focal points. Public opinion will form regarding what choices Korean society should make in the general election, now just 20 months away. Perhaps this is the last chance for the established political sphere to regain public trust.

Lee Kwang-jae, Secretary General of the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters