In response to some claims that the Democratic Party of Korea could push a "trial petition system" as a judicial reform plan to allow constitutional complaints even in cases with final Supreme Court rulings, the party drew a line, saying it "is not discussing it at the party level."
On the 30th, after a floor countermeasures meeting held at the National Assembly, Kim Hyun-jung, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, told reporters, "The trial petition has not been officially finalized, and it has not been officially discussed at the party level."
The trial petition system is a mechanism that would allow filing a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court if it is determined that a person's basic rights were seriously violated even after a final Supreme Court ruling. The current Constitutional Court Act excludes "trials" from the scope of constitutional complaints. In May, during the presidential election phase, Democratic Party lawmaker Jeong Jin-uk introduced a related bill, but the legal community strongly opposed it as "effectively introducing a fourth instance," and it sank below the surface. Some in political circles say that if the amendment is pursued, it could affect President Lee Jae-myung's trial for violating the Public Official Election Act. In May, the Supreme Court remanded Lee's case to the Seoul High Court with a guilty purport, but the trial has been suspended since the presidential inauguration. For this reason, there are pointed observations that pushing the trial petition system could be seen as an attempt to "neutralize the Supreme Court ruling."
The controversy flared after Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won, a former judge, said on YouTube the day before on Kim Eo-jun's program, "Wasn't the trial of Lee Jae-myung (presidential) candidate also a violation of the right to hold public office? Such a trial would be taken to the Constitutional Court." He argued, "If the judiciary does not make efforts at self-correction, the legislature may introduce a trial petition system."
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's special committee on judicial reform postponed the timing of its judicial reform plan announcement until after Chuseok due to the fire incident at the National Information Resources Service. After selecting five key tasks—▲ increasing the number of Supreme Court justices ▲ improving the Supreme Court Justice Candidate Recommendation Committee ▲ participation of outside experts in evaluating judges ▲ expanding disclosure of lower court rulings ▲ introducing a pre-examination system for search-and-seizure warrants—the committee is aiming to complete legislation within the year.