People Power Party (PPP) Floor Leader Song Eon-seok on Thursday called on the Democratic Party of Korea to "stop the shameless act of calling it 'judicial reform' when you manipulate and intimidate the judicial system to turn your crimes into acquittals."
At a party policy meeting held at the National Assembly, Song said, "The 'law distortion crime,' 'four-tier trial system,' and 'expansion of Supreme Court justices' that the Democratic Party intends to ram through today are clearly unconstitutional laws."
He added, "The opposition party, legal circles, and academia are opposing this, and the Chief Justice himself has come forward to appeal to the public about the problems. Is it acceptable to discuss a major national matter that changes the framework of an 80-year judicial system in a Democratic Party general meeting, behind closed doors, without proper public consultation?"
"Can this be called modern democracy?" Song asked. "Using the party to control the parliament and using the parliament to control the judiciary and state institutions is the model of totalitarian dictatorship carried out in Hitler's Nazi Germany and Chavez's Venezuela."
Targeting the ruling party, he urged, "Please maintain at least a minimum of conscience. If your crimes are exposed, you should know to be ashamed. You should know to undergo rigorous investigation and pay for your crimes."
Regarding the National Referendum Act amendment that passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee the previous day, Song pointed out that "content that was not discussed was included, such as provisions for up to 10 years in prison for spreading false information about the National Election Commission."
He claimed, "They said they are revising it because the National Assembly is not fulfilling its responsibility regarding parts ruled unconstitutional while holding legislative power, but that is just a good-sounding pretext. The content is designed to expand the authority of the National Election Commission and silence public criticism when handling matters to their liking."