A bill restricting presidential pardon powers for insurrection and treason offenses passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee subcommittee on Tuesday, drawing fierce opposition from the ruling party over constitutional concerns.
The Legislation and Judiciary Committee convened its Bill Review Subcommittee No. 1 and approved the amendment to the Pardon Act. Rep. Kim Yong-min of the Democratic Party of Korea, who serves as both subcommittee chair and the opposition's chief secretary on the committee, said after the meeting, "The Pardon Act now stipulates that presidential pardons for insurrection and treason are prohibited in principle, with a provision allowing pardons only with consent from three-fifths of the National Assembly."
The bill aims to block sentence reductions or release for former President Yoon Suk Yeol should his conviction become final. Deliberations accelerated after Yoon was sentenced to life imprisonment on insurrection charges in his first trial on January 19.
Addressing concerns about restricting the president's inherent pardon authority through ordinary legislation, Kim explained, "Our Constitution grants sufficient legislative discretion regarding presidential pardon powers."
Rep. Seo Young-kyo of the Democratic Party, who introduced the bill, stated, "We determined that prohibiting both special and general pardons for insurrection and treason would prevent such crimes from ever rising again."
Following the vote, People Power Party members of the subcommittee held a press conference at the National Assembly, declaring the bill "clearly unconstitutional." Rep. Na Kyung-won argued, "The presidential pardon power under Article 79 of the Constitution is an inherent presidential authority and a high-level act of governance. Restricting this through legislation violates the constitutional principle of separation of powers."
Na also pointed out that the bill effectively constitutes "dispositive legislation" targeting a specific individual and raised concerns about retroactive application if enforced on ongoing trials.
Na further criticized the opposition bloc's consecutive passage of the Commercial Act amendment and the Pardon Act amendment as "acts that destroy constitutional order."