Lee Backs Insurrection Court... Party Disagreements Settled

Democratic Party Leadership Pushes for Dedicated, Not Special, Insurrection Panel
Lee: "The Special Court Is Not Unconstitutional"... Bolstering the Party's Efforts

With President Lee Jaemyung stating that the Special Court for Insurrection is not unconstitutional, the Democratic Party of Korea, which is pushing for the establishment of the insurrection court, is expected to gain momentum. As internal disagreements within the party have been settled for now, attention is focused on whether the process will accelerate.

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on September 12, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

According to political sources on September 12, the Democratic Party leadership is emphasizing the establishment of an insurrection-dedicated court, anticipating that legislation may be delayed due to concerns about the constitutionality of the Special Court for Insurrection. While the Special Court for Insurrection would create a separate panel to judge insurrection cases, an insurrection-dedicated court would simply add a new panel to the existing court structure. For example, if the current court has 30 panels, establishing an insurrection-dedicated court would increase this to 31 panels.

However, since President Lee lent his support through his remarks the previous day, there is also a possibility that attention will shift back to the Special Court for Insurrection, which is currently pending in the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee. A member of the party leadership stated, "We take the President’s words seriously, but we are not yet intensifying or accelerating our efforts," adding, "The official party leadership is discussing the dedicated court, while the special committee and standing committee are talking about the special court, so this situation is being maintained."

The previous day, during a press conference marking his 100th day in office, President Lee responded to claims that the Special Court for Insurrection is unconstitutional by saying, "They say it’s unconstitutional, but how is that unconstitutional?" He added, "There is a misunderstanding about the separation of powers. Judicial independence does not mean that the judiciary can do whatever it wants."

Internal disagreements within the party regarding the Special Court for Insurrection also appear to have been resolved. Assemblyman Park Heeseung, a former judge, stated during a meeting of the Special Committee on Comprehensive Response to the Three Major Special Prosecutors on September 8 that passing the Special Court for Insurrection bill without constitutional amendment would be risky. However, two days later, he stepped back, clarifying that his intention was to emphasize the need to thoroughly examine the constitutionality issue.

Meanwhile, on this day, the Supreme Court convened a meeting of court presidents nationwide to discuss countermeasures regarding the Democratic Party’s judicial reform initiatives. A Democratic Party official said, "We will closely monitor the situation, but it appears that there will be no separate response."