[Inside Chodong] Stop the 'Legislation for One Person'

Democratic Party Pushes to Amend Election and Criminal Procedure Laws
Criticism Mounts Over Disregard for Procedures and Retroactive Application
Time to Wield a Gavel of Restraint and Responsibility

In the Battle of Changban, as described in the novel "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," Zhao Zilong broke through enemy lines alone to rescue Liu Bei's son, Liu Shan. When his spear became dull, he fought by seizing weapons from the enemy, giving rise to the saying, "like Zhao Zilong wielding a used spear." These days, the phrase is mostly used to mean "to wield authority or means recklessly." Watching the legislative commotion at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on May 14, I was reminded of the expression "like wielding a used spear."

The Democratic Party of Korea, in response to the Supreme Court's decision to remand Lee Jae-myung's violation of the Public Official Election Act for a guilty verdict, is countering with amendments to the Public Official Election Act and the Criminal Procedure Act. It took less than two weeks from the proposal to passage through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. It appears that, should they win the presidential election and take power, they intend to push the bills through the National Assembly plenary session and finalize them into law.

There are three problems with the amendments. Article 250, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act prohibits candidates from publishing false information regarding birthplace, career, family relations, or conduct for the purpose of election. The Democratic Party seeks to delete the word "conduct" from this clause. Their stated reason is the concern over "abstract and arbitrary interpretation." However, the Democratic Party itself likely knows this is not the real reason. The fundamental issue with this amendment is that it narrows the scope of false information, potentially giving wings to lies in the election arena. If false claims about a candidate's past criminal record or inappropriate behavior?i.e., their "conduct"?are not punishable, negative campaigning will inevitably prevail. This is a law that would shake the very foundation of trust in elections, the flower of democracy.

Yonhap News

The amendment to Article 306 of the Criminal Procedure Act (Suspension of Trial Procedure) seeks to add Paragraph 6, which would extend the presidential immunity from prosecution under Article 84 of the Constitution to include ongoing trials. However, the first beneficiary of this law (assuming a presidential victory) would be Lee Jae-myung, who is facing five trials on twelve charges. The law must apply equally to everyone, and no law should be made for the benefit of a single individual. A country that does otherwise is not a democracy.

The laws the Democratic Party seeks to enact defy common sense and lack logical coherence. The Democratic Party proposes to insert a clause into the Criminal Procedure Act stating, "If the defendant registers as a candidate or is elected president, the trial procedure must be suspended." Yet, they add the phrase, "except in cases where innocence is clear." It is impossible to know what constitutes "a case where innocence is clear," or how one could determine innocence before a trial has even taken place.

The usual legislative process is passage by the National Assembly plenary session, followed by transmission to the government, presidential promulgation, and implementation fifteen days later. However, this amendment is designed to take effect immediately by inserting a supplementary provision stating, "to be enforced from the date of promulgation" and "to apply to the president at the time of enforcement." Why is there such a rush to disregard the legislative process? Avoiding retroactive legislation is a basic principle lawmakers should uphold. This is an unreasonable move upon another unreasonable move. It is because this is "legislation for one person."

Legislation that overturns the status quo, or amending laws entirely just because circumstances turn unfavorable, is an abuse of legislative power. This will set a bad precedent for years to come, and once the excitement and irrationality of the election season subside, it could ultimately return as a boomerang. The Democratic Party's legislative attempts must be halted even now. Instead of "Zhao Zilong's used spear," the Democratic Party should wield a "restrained gavel."