The Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to establish a Special Judicial Division on Treason dedicated to the emergency martial law incident involving former President Yoon Suk-yeol, taking advantage of the dismissal of an arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. The People Power Party criticized this as an idea that privatizes the judiciary. In contrast, the Democratic Party stated that they would not proceed if the presiding judge, Ji Kwi-yeon, in charge of former President Yoon's trial is disciplined.
Choi Eun-seok, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, released a statement on the 1st saying, "The Democratic Party is once again trying to cross the threshold of constitutional order. This time, they intend to force the enactment of the Special Act on Treason with the bizarre idea of a 'Special Judicial Division on Treason.'"
He added, "The special prosecutor respected the court's decision by switching to an indictment without detention just two days after the dismissal of the arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Han. However, the Democratic Party brought up the absurdity of a special judicial division," pointing out, "When the court's judgment does not suit them, they want to appoint a judge who matches their taste to conduct the trial."
Park Seong-hoon, the spokesperson for the same party, also noted in a statement, "The Democratic Party has finally broken the taboo and pulled out the card to enforce a 'government-ordered Special Judicial Division on Treason.' Now, they are even considering preparing a list of judges," adding, "To distrust the entire judiciary based on one dismissal of an arrest warrant and to propose establishing a 'customized judicial division' is simply a violation of the rule of law disguised as democracy."
Jeon Hyun-hee, chairperson of the 3rd Special Prosecutorial Comprehensive Response Committee, advocating for the establishment of a Special Judicial Division on Treason, mentioned the court's self-corrective actions. This implies that disciplinary action is necessary against Director General Ji Kwi-yeon of the Seoul Central District Court, who made decisions regarding the release of former President Yoon.
Chairperson Jeon appeared on CBS Radio that day and stated, "If actions such as disciplining personnel who raise doubts about the fairness of the trial are taken beforehand, then the Democratic Party's position is that there would be no need to legislate for the establishment of a Special Judicial Division on Treason," adding, "There are doubts about whether the judiciary is functioning properly regarding the Ji Kwi-yeon judicial division."
The establishment of a Special Judicial Division on Treason is expected to become a major issue in the regular National Assembly session. On that day, Democratic Party leader Jung Cheong-rae said, "I believe this situation resembles that of the anti-communist committee in the post-liberation era. Right now, eliminating treasonous forces is the spirit of the times and a task of the era," while Jang Dong-hyuk, the leader of the People Power Party, predicted a response, saying, "The Democratic Party wants to create a Special Judicial Division on Treason, which even the media describes as unconstitutional."