Jeon Hyun-hee, a Supreme Commissioner of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at a press briefing on the 23rd, "A dedicated panel for insurrection cases is the most certain safety device to prevent Jo Hee-de's judiciary from obstructing the end of insurrection." Jeon, the Supreme Commissioner, is the Chairperson of the Democratic Party of Korea's task force (TF) on overcoming distrust in the judiciary and normalizing judicial administration.
At the National Assembly press briefing that day, the Supreme Commissioner said, "If there is a special counsel, it is only natural to have special judges as well," adding, "We must introduce a dedicated panel for insurrection cases."
Earlier, the Democratic Party of Korea had argued for introducing a dedicated panel for insurrection cases after Jung Chung-rae took office in Aug. Then constitutional controversy flared and the discussion was halted. There was also an aspect of the party accepting concerns that the party's excessive push for judicial reform was overshadowing President Lee Jae-myung's diplomatic achievements.
However, the Democratic Party of Korea has recently been pushing hard again to introduce a dedicated panel for insurrection cases. The trigger was that the special counsel on insurrection sought arrest warrants for former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, alleging they aided former President Yoon Suk-yeol's execution of an insurrection plan or took part in incitement to insurrection, but the requests were repeatedly dismissed.
The People Power Party criticized it as the Democratic Party of Korea once again exploiting insurrection to sway public opinion ahead of next year's local elections.
The Supreme Commissioner said, "We must not give insurgent forces a chance to strike back. We must prevent Yoon Suk-yeol's second release at all costs." The Supreme Commissioner added, "There is criticism that introducing it at the first trial could raise constitutional issues due to a change of the panel during proceedings, so the argument to introduce it from the second trial is gaining traction."
The Supreme Commissioner continued, "I think the leadership mostly agrees on the need. Above all, coordination of opinions among the party, the government, and the ruling camp is necessary," adding, "When the president returns from the (Middle East) tour, I expect full-fledged discussions will begin."
The Supreme Commissioner also said, "We will abolish the National Court Administration, which has degenerated into a tool for the chief justice's power grip, and push to establish a Judicial Administration Commission with democratic legitimacy." The Supreme Commissioner added, "We will make disciplinary action against corrupt judges substantive and strengthen the democratic legitimacy of the judges' conference."