The Democratic Party of Korea on the 3rd officially launched the Task Force (TF) for normalizing judicial administration and said it would push to pass within the year the "bill to abolish the National Court Administration" (amendment to the Court Organization Act), which would abolish the National Court Administration and create a Judicial Administration Commission.
On top of the seven key judicial reform bills the Democratic Party is already pushing, including increasing the number of Supreme Court justices and introducing appeals on constitutional complaints of trials and the crime of legal distortion (amendment to the Criminal Act), the party has also brought out a judicial administration reform plan, which is seen as further raising the pressure on the judiciary.
Jung Chung-rae, the Democratic Party leader, said at the TF launch event at the National Assembly that "controversy continues under Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae's leadership that the judiciary is intervening in political judgments," adding, "Structural reform is the solution to all problems, including distrust of the judiciary."
Jung said, "Under the current National Court Administration system, the absolute power of the chief justice has fostered a closed and hierarchical operating method that has dampened judges' independent judgments and increased the possibility of external influence on trials." He added that "we will seriously reexamine former lawmaker Lee Tan-hee's proposal to establish a Judicial Administration Commission."
The "Court Organization Act amendment" Jung mentioned is a bill introduced in the 21st National Assembly by former lawmaker Lee Tan-hee, a former judge, which would abolish the National Court Administration and establish a Judicial Administration Commission with a majority of non-judge commissioners recommended by the National Assembly. Specifically, two-thirds of all commissioners on the Judicial Administration Commission would be composed of outsiders such as attorneys and experts. If this plan is realized, the chief justice's personnel, budget, and administrative powers would be subject to external checks.
The Democratic Party says it aims to enhance transparency in judicial administration and dismantle the imperial chief justice system through this measure.
Jeon Hyun-hee, the Director General of the TF and the party's senior supreme council member, said, "Public trust in the judiciary has plummeted to the bottom; now it must be normalized into a judiciary for the people," stressing, "A democratic control procedure to disperse the powers of the imperial chief justice—whose authority over trials, personnel, budgets, and administration is concentrated in the chief justice—is urgent."
She added, "Starting today, with the goal of passing it within the year, we will begin discussions on the tentative 'judicial administration normalization act.'"
In addition to Jeon, participants in the TF included lawmaker Kim Ki-pyo, who serves as secretary, and lawmakers Kim Seung-won, Choi Ki-sang, Jang Kyung-tae, Lee Sung-yoon, Park Kyun-taek, Lee Geon-tae, and Kim Sang-wook. Outside experts include Lim Ji-bong, a professor at Sogang University Law School, and Seong Chang-ik, an attorney at Jipyung LLC.
The Democratic Party's push for the "bill to abolish the National Court Administration" is seen as a signal of checks directed at Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae. With Jung directly raising allegations of "political interference" by Cho and pressing for his voluntary resignation, the party has made clear its message of dispersing the chief justice's power.
However, abolishing the National Court Administration and creating a Judicial Administration Commission could conflict with the constitutional principle of judicial independence, making controversy inevitable during deliberations in the National Assembly.
Chun Dae-yup, head of the National Court Administration, said at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee audit on the 30th of last month, "Regarding trial delays, the National Court Administration can, through institutional improvements, swiftly enable relief of rights for various public complaints," and asked that the abolition proposal be reviewed with caution.