Democratic Party must cease pressuring judiciary — Lee Jae-myung should intervene

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Democratic Party must cease pressuring judiciary — Lee Jae-myung should intervene

Published: 14 May. 2025, 00:00

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee is in session at the National Assembly building in Yeouido, western Seoul, on May 7. [NEWS1]

Since the start of the presidential campaign, the Democratic Party (DP) has continued to escalate its pressure on the judiciary. Rep. Jung Cheong-rae, who chairs the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, announced Monday that the party would proceed with deliberation on a set of so-called judicial reform bills. These include special counsel legislation and amendments to the Court Organization Act and the Constitutional Court Act. The move came after Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de and sitting justices declined to appear at a hearing convened by the DP to investigate alleged judicial interference in the upcoming election.

Jung claimed there is growing public support for a special investigation and even a parliamentary inquiry, pointing to the justices’ refusal to attend. But whether that support actually exists remains questionable. While the Supreme Court’s recent ruling — returning DP candidate Lee Jae-myung’s election law case to a lower court with a guilty implication — was unusually swift, many Koreans also view the DP’s response as an overreach that undermines judicial independence.

The proposals under review are far from ordinary. They include initiating a special prosecutor probe into the Supreme Court’s ruling, increasing the number of Supreme Court justices, and allowing constitutional appeals of ordinary court rulings — a move that would effectively create a fourth trial tier. The push to rapidly revise the law to give the Constitutional Court oversight over ongoing trials is particularly troubling. Korea’s Act on Parliamentary Inspections and Investigations explicitly bars such inquiries from interfering with ongoing trials or prosecutions. There is a reason that restriction exists.

What is clear to the public is that all this stems from the DP’s deep mistrust of the judiciary, especially in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Lee Jae-myung’s appellate acquittal. Even though Lee’s retrial has now been postponed until after the election, the party’s offensive continues. Many suspect that this is a strategic effort to maintain control over the judiciary well beyond election day. Had the court affirmed Lee’s acquittal, none of this would be happening.

On May 9, Lee said, “The judiciary is the final bastion of our democratic republic’s separation of powers. I trust the majority of the judiciary and our legal system.” He added, however, “But if the final bastion starts firing on us indiscriminately or self-destructs, then it must be corrected.” While we hope this was not intended as a directive to attack the courts, the ambiguity raises concern.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Jo Hee-de speaks at a meeting of the National Council of Justices at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in Goyang, Gyeonggi on April 14. [YONHAP]

Lee, a seasoned lawyer, knows better than most the importance of safeguarding the separation of powers. A perception that his party is willing to erode constitutional principles to shield a single candidate could backfire with centrist voters. It was only weeks ago that Korea witnessed the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol for violating this very principle. In its ruling, the Constitutional Court stated that Yoon’s involvement in judicial personnel decisions “seriously undermined judicial independence and violated the principle of separation of powers, a core element of constitutional order.”

Lee must step up and temper his party’s pressure campaign. Defending the judiciary’s autonomy is not only a constitutional obligation — it is a political imperative.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.