Criticism of the Democratic Party's three judicial reform bills
"An attempt to use judges as subordinates"
"President Lee will face no checks whatsoever"
Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon said of the three judicial reform bills being pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea, "President Lee Jae-myung will become a supra-constitutional absolute monarch who is subject to no checks whatsoever." The three judicial reform bills refer to the crime of legal distortion, the introduction of a retrial-type constitutional complaint system, and an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices.
On the 26th, through Facebook, Mayor Oh stated, "The Democratic Party's dangerous scenario of forcing the judiciary of the Republic of Korea to kneel before political power and using judges as subordinates to that power is blatantly underway."
Oh Sehoon, mayor of Seoul, is being asked a question at the press corps New Year's meeting held at Seoul City Hall on the 10th. Yonhap News
In particular, he pointed out that "under the vague concept of 'legal distortion,' they intend to intimidate investigative agencies and the judiciary and shake their independence, in short, to tame the judiciary to suit the tastes of the administration." He went on to say, "By increasing the number of Supreme Court justices, the idea is that even if President Lee Jae-myung receives a final guilty verdict in a retrial, the Supreme Court will overturn it again."
He continued, "Even if they fail to overturn the result in the Supreme Court as they wish, they intend to put in place a final safety device to prevent President Lee Jae-myung from being sent to prison through a fourth-instance trial," adding, "It is virtually the same as saying that the Democratic Party will write court judgments from now on."
Mayor Oh said, "Once the 'three laws to seize control of the judiciary' are completed, President Lee Jae-myung will become a supra-constitutional absolute monarch who is subject to no checks whatsoever. The Democratic Party must immediately stop this frenzied runaway," and added, "If they do not stop this arrogant rampage of trying to place everything under the power of the Democratic Party, the only thing ultimately awaiting them will be the stern judgment of the people."
On this day, the National Assembly is set to vote in a plenary session on the "Legal Distortion Crime Act" (Criminal Act amendment), one of the three major judicial reform bills. The core of the bill is a provision that if judges, prosecutors, and others distort the law in relation to cases under trial or investigation, with the purpose of unlawfully and unjustly granting benefits to others or harming their rights and interests, they will be subject to imprisonment for up to 10 years and disqualification from office for up to 10 years. The bill passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee under the leadership of the Democratic Party, but sparked controversy over its constitutionality. In response, the Democratic Party submitted a revised bill the previous day.
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