Innovation Party: "We Welcome Supreme Court's Regulation on Dedicated Panels... Diminished Need to Propose Insurrection Panel Bill"

"Concerns Over Trial Delays Addressed... Regret Over Belated Announcement"
"Judiciary's Response Reduces Need for Legislative Proposal"

On December 18, the Innovation Party expressed its "welcoming" stance regarding the Supreme Court's enactment of the "Regulation on the Establishment of Dedicated Panels for Nationally Significant Cases." The Innovation Party emphasized that, as the judiciary prepares to establish a dedicated panel for insurrection cases, the necessity for proposing a bill to establish such a panel has diminished.

Park Byeongeon, spokesperson for the Innovation Party, stated in a commentary on the same day, "Today, the Supreme Court announced that, considering the national significance and need for swift processing of insurrection, treason, and rebellion cases (under the Military Criminal Act), it will enact a regulation to establish dedicated panels that will exclusively and intensively deliberate these cases." He added, "The Innovation Party highly welcomes this decision." However, he also noted, "It is regrettable that this announcement came belatedly."

Cho Kuk, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Innovation Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on September 15, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Spokesperson Park explained, "The Innovation Party had previously expressed concerns that the bill to establish a special panel for insurrection cases, prepared by the National Assembly, could provide Yoon Suk-yeol's legal team with opportunities to delay the trial." He added, "We had requested that the judiciary address public suspicions by enacting a Supreme Court regulation." He continued, "In response to the National Assembly's efforts, the Supreme Court has decided to designate a dedicated appellate panel at the Seoul High Court to handle the appeals for insurrection trials currently underway at 13 panels of the Seoul Central District Court."

Spokesperson Park also mentioned that the Democratic Party of Korea decided to revise the bill on the dedicated insurrection panel to address constitutional concerns, stating, "It is only natural that the National Assembly and the judiciary cooperate in their respective capacities to resolve the issue of insurrection." He further remarked, "The separation of powers is meant to provide checks and balances, but when it comes to critical national tasks, cooperation is essential."

He went on to say, "With the judiciary's positive response effectively introducing a dedicated insurrection panel, the need for the National Assembly to propose a bill to establish such a panel through legislation has been significantly reduced." He also referred to the fact that, on the 5th, chief judges nationwide declared former President Yoon Suk-yeol's emergency martial law unconstitutional, and added, "The Supreme Court's declaration to lower courts that insurrection trials should fundamentally result in guilty verdicts also represents a progressive change in the judiciary's stance."