The Democratic Party of Korea will launch the "task force (TF) for restoring trust in the judiciary and normalizing judicial administration" next week.
Park Su-hyeon, the Democratic Party senior spokesperson, met with reporters after the party's supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 27th and said, "Representative Jung Chung-rae today ordered the formation of the 'TF for restoring trust in the judiciary and normalizing judicial administration' at the preliminary supreme council meeting and appointed Jeon Hyun-hee, a supreme council member, as Director General."
The TF is expected to identify and push tasks to increase transparency in court personnel and administration.
Earlier on the 26th, at a general meeting of lawmakers, Representative Jung said, "The courts are too closed. Centered on the National Court Administration, isn't it too vertical? There is talk that it is time to consider democratizing personnel and administration to make them more open and transparent," adding, "It is time to hold a discussion after coordination among the party, government, and leadership."
Some interpret this as the TF moving in earnest to build public consensus on introducing a "law distortion offense," which would punish judges and prosecutors who manipulate evidence or distort facts in rulings, and a "trial petition system," which would allow constitutional complaints even in cases with final Supreme Court rulings.
On this, senior spokesperson Park held back, saying, "We will explain in detail when we announce it on Monday next week."