On June 4, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly held the first subcommittee on bill review and passed the amendment to the Court Organization Act, which centers on increasing the number of Supreme Court justices.
The amendment includes a provision to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from the current 14 to 30.
On the 14th of last month, a roll-call vote was held on the partial amendment bill to the Public Official Election Act during the plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which reviews the Court Organization Act, the Public Official Election Act, and the Constitutional Court, held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Previously, Kim Yongmin, a member of the Democratic Party, proposed a bill to increase the number of justices from 14 to 30, while Jang Kyungtae, also of the Democratic Party, proposed a bill to increase the number of justices to 100.
The People Power Party opposed the amendment and walked out, so the bill was passed solely by the Democratic Party.
Park Beomgye, the chair of the first subcommittee on bill review and a member of the Democratic Party, told reporters, "Currently, there are 14 Supreme Court justices, so to reach a total of 30, 16 more need to be added. We have revised the supplementary provision so that four justices will be appointed each year, starting one year after the promulgation."
The Legislation and Judiciary Committee had initially planned to hold a plenary session on the same day to pass the amendment to the Court Organization Act, but this was postponed.
It is expected that the amendment will be passed in a future plenary session and then submitted to the main session of the National Assembly.
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