Democrats Revise Judicial Distortion Bill Minutes Before Floor Vote

The Democratic Party of Korea decided on the 25th to revise its judicial distortion bill just before bringing it to the National Assembly floor vote, bypassing the version that had passed through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

Democratic Party floor spokesperson Baek Seung-ah announced the decision following a general assembly meeting at the National Assembly. "The judicial distortion bill has been revised from the original version that passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee," she said. "It has been modified to apply only to criminal cases, with added clarity on each provision to minimize constitutional concerns."

She added that "the three judicial reform bills were adopted as party platform at the general assembly." The party is currently working on revising the specific language. The three judicial reform bills refer to the judicial distortion bill, the constitutional appeal system (Constitutional Court Act revision), and the Supreme Court justice expansion bill (Court Organization Act revision).

In response, Rep. Kim Yong-min, the ruling party's chief secretary on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, told reporters: "This was pushed through as party platform without consulting the Judiciary Committee." He added that "the process was supposed to involve collecting opinions on each issue, but suddenly it was adopted as party platform, and the voting method was also irregular."

Rep. Kim further stated: "The process of revising the judicial distortion bill and making it party platform was not smooth. The party leadership and floor leader must take responsibility." He added: "I was only notified around 2 p.m., before the general assembly," and criticized that "it was very wrong to push this as party platform without hearing the Judiciary Committee's opinion."