Kim Sang-hwan, Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, said Thursday that the court would "gather all its wisdom and capabilities to faithfully prepare and fulfill its duties" regarding the judicial appeal system.
His remarks came a day after the Cabinet approved the so-called "three judicial reform bills"—covering judicial misconduct penalties, judicial appeals to the Constitutional Court, and expansion of Supreme Court justices—which passed the National Assembly plenary session led by the Democratic Party of Korea.
"I feel a heavy sense of responsibility for the public's will and expectations embedded in the introduction of the judicial appeal system," Kim told reporters at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
The judicial appeal law allows Constitutional Court review of court rulings, which were previously excluded from constitutional complaint proceedings. When court rulings violate the Constitution, the Constitutional Court can overturn them, requiring courts to retry cases according to its decisions. Once the government publishes the bills in the official gazette next week, the judicial appeal system and judicial misconduct penalties under the revised Criminal Procedure Act will take effect immediately.
Critics warn the system could function as a de facto fourth trial level, undermining the judicial system's foundation. The Constitutional Court maintains that allowing review of court rulings will eliminate blind spots in fundamental rights protection. The court plans to establish a separate preliminary review division to assess whether judicial appeal cases meet legal requirements.
Concerns have been raised about whether the Constitutional Court has sufficient resources to handle judicial appeal cases. The court has nine justices and approximately 70 constitutional researchers, processing about 2,500 cases annually with average disposition times exceeding two years. Kim said the court is "preparing well" regarding staff expansion.
The Supreme Court has not issued a statement since the Cabinet approved the bills. Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae said on June 3 that legislators should "deliberate until the very end whether there is anything harmful to the public." He effectively urged Acting President Lee Jae-myung to exercise veto power, but Lee did not do so.
The judiciary is expected to discuss follow-up measures at the National Court Presidents' Conference scheduled for June 12-13 in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province. The National Court Administration has set agenda items including "follow-up measures for judicial system reform" and "support measures for criminal court judges regarding judicial misconduct penalties."