Minister Cheon Dae-yeop of the Supreme Court Administration Office said on the 14th that the Democratic Party of Korea's bill to increase the number of Supreme Court justices and introduce a judicial review process would "harm the public."
Minister Cheon attended a full meeting of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee on that morning and stated, "There are serious concerns that if the number of Supreme Court justices is increased uniformly without thorough investigation, such side effects may occur."
Earlier, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jang Kyung-tae proposed a bill to amend the Court Organization Act to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from the current 14 to 100 on the 8th. On the 2nd, lawmaker Kim Yong-min also introduced a bill to increase the number of Supreme Court justices to 30.
In response, Minister Cheon noted, "If the number of Supreme Court justices is increased while serious delays in trials are ongoing, it will instead cause all cases to be 'appealed,' further delaying the finalization of judgments."
He continued, "Ultimately, the plenary session will be paralyzed, and the function of unifying legal interpretations will also be compromised. At the same time, the function of remedying rights through the thorough deliberation of the plenary session will inevitably be hampered."
Minister Cheon emphasized that there is no need to increase the number of Supreme Court justices, citing examples from the United States and Europe. He said, "The number of Supreme Court justices in the United Kingdom and the United States is fewer than ours," and added, "Countries in Europe, such as Germany and France, also do not have that many Supreme Court justices, and their structure is divided between Director General judges and other judges."
Regarding the amendment to the Constitutional Court Act that would allow individuals to file constitutional complaints (judicial review) in court, he stated, "This is interpreted as not allowed under the current constitution, so it contradicts constitutional provisions."
Minister Cheon remarked, "Introducing judicial review would effectively mean adopting a four-tier system, and if every case is prolonged and finalized only after going through four tiers, those who can afford it will hire lawyers, while those who cannot will end up in a situation of 'the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer,' resulting in outcomes that are not beneficial to the public."
He emphasized that a careful and thorough review of these amendments should be conducted through subcommittees and public hearings.