Ruling Party Pushes "Judicial and Media Reform," Opposition Vows to "Stop Unilateral Legislation" as Political Circles Prepare for National Assembly Audit

Jeong Cheongrae Stresses the Need to Accelerate Reform
People Power Party Launches Comprehensive Audit Situation Room

With the Chuseok holiday over, both the ruling and opposition parties are focusing their efforts on final preparations for the upcoming 2025 National Assembly audit, which is set to begin next week. The Democratic Party of Korea has announced plans to push a legislative drive centered on judicial and media reform. Meanwhile, the People Power Party has taken a firm stance, vowing to check what it calls the government and ruling party’s unilateral legislative push.

On the morning of the 10th at the National Assembly, Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "This reform, which stands against insurrection, must be different from previous reforms," adding, "We must pursue accountability to the end, press forward without yielding to resistance." Although there were signs of differing attitudes toward reform between the presidential office and the ruling party during the Chuseok holiday, Jeong’s remarks signaled an intention to accelerate the pace of reform.

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on October 10, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

However, as concerns were raised both inside and outside the party that debates over speed and approach could be perceived as conflict between the party and the government-potentially leading to a drop in support and loss of supporters-Jeong once again emphasized unity. He said, "The party and government must act as one team and speak with one voice to achieve both the eradication of insurrection and the recovery of the people's livelihood and the economy, doing our utmost until the public gives their approval."

The National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, chaired by Democratic Party lawmaker Choo Mi-ae, plans to hold a parliamentary audit at the Supreme Court on the 15th and summon Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hui-dae as a witness. The committee has also announced plans to propose an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices and to diversify the composition of the Supreme Court Justice Recommendation Committee. Jeong pointed out, "Although the Government Organization Act has passed and the banner of prosecutorial reform has been raised, there are still many forces obstructing the normalization of the Republic of Korea in the eyes of the public."

On the same day, the People Power Party held a countermeasure meeting for the audit and reorganized its ranks. With the full-fledged audit period set to begin on the 13th, the party converted its regular floor countermeasure meeting into a special audit countermeasure meeting and activated its comprehensive situation room for the audit. The party leadership held a plaque unveiling ceremony for the situation room in the morning, reaffirming their commitment to responding to the audit.

Yonhap News Agency

The party has set three main goals for the audit: protecting freedom and fairness, restoring economic growth, and increasing transparency in state administration. Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, said, "Through the audit, all 107 of us will become fighters for the people's livelihood and prove that we are a more capable opposition party than the ruling party."

First, to protect freedom and fairness, the party plans to scrutinize the Supreme Court Chief Justice confirmation hearing led by the Democratic Party and the issue of President Lee Jaemyung’s suspended trial. In economic matters, the party will highlight soaring food prices, skyrocketing housing costs, and the prolonged Korea-U.S. tariff negotiations, while also proposing alternatives. Finally, in state administration, the party will focus on the controversy surrounding Kim Hyunji, the first deputy chief of staff at the presidential office, and the paralysis of administrative systems caused by the fire at the National Information Resources Service. The People Power Party claims that the presidential office reassigned Kim from chief secretary for general affairs to first deputy chief of staff to prevent her from appearing at the audit, and plans to push for her to be summoned as a witness. Regarding the National Information Resources Service fire, the party raised the issue of government responsibility and proposed a parliamentary investigation.