The Democratic Party of Korea decided to proceed with judicial reform bills, including the law distortion crime legislation, in their original form despite constitutional concerns. The party will adopt government proposals for establishing a Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and a Public Prosecution Agency as its official position once the government submits re-legislated drafts. However, the controversial supplementary investigation authority issue was deferred for future discussion.
Park Soo-hyun, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, told reporters after the policy general meeting on the 22nd, "We agreed to process the three judicial reform bills—the law distortion crime act, the constitutional appeal on court rulings act, and the Supreme Court justice expansion act—in the plenary session as passed by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee."
The law distortion crime provision would punish judges or prosecutors who intentionally misapply laws to harm others' rights and interests. The party is pushing forward with the original bill despite its own policy committee's warnings about potential unconstitutionality. The party also plans to pass bills expanding Supreme Court justices from 14 to 26 and allowing constitutional appeals against finalized court rulings.
Regarding the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency and Public Prosecution Agency bills, Park said, "We adopted the government drafts scheduled for re-legislation announcement as our party position. While some concerns remain, the bills passed unanimously as a compromise allowing the Judiciary Committee to coordinate technical details with floor leadership."
The contentious supplementary investigation authority will be revisited after local elections. The Democratic Party had previously adopted a position allowing only supplementary investigation request rights, not direct authority. Despite the government's call for reconsideration citing operational necessity, hardliners including Judiciary Committee members blocked any decision this time.
The People Power Party plans to counter with a filibuster. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk previously stated regarding the Democratic Party's judicial reform push, "The opposition, lacking sufficient seats, has no choice but to filibuster or appeal directly to the public." The strategy aims to maximize public awareness of the bills' problems through appeals to public opinion.
Despite this resistance, the Democratic Party will hold plenary sessions from the 24th through the 3rd of next month to push through reform and livelihood legislation. Beyond the three judicial reform bills, the party plans to finalize 12 bills including regional integration laws for Gwangju-South Jeolla, Daegu-North Gyeongsang, and Daejeon-South Chungcheong provinces, the third Commercial Act revision, Child Allowance Act amendment, National Referendum Act amendment, Real Estate Transaction Reporting Act amendment, and Urban and Residential Environment Improvement Act amendment.