At a plenary meeting of The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 3rd, bills to establish a "sedition-only trial panel" and to punish judges and prosecutors under a "law distortion" offense passed under the lead of the Democratic Party of Korea. The People Power Party opposed handling the bills and did not attend the meeting.
On this day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee put forward and passed, after going through the agenda coordination committee, the following: ▲ the special bill to establish a sedition-only trial panel and protect whistleblowers (Sedition Special Act) ▲ an amendment to the Criminal Act (law distortion offense) ▲ an amendment to the act on the establishment and operation of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). The agenda coordination committee is a sub-body under a standing committee that discusses whether to handle bills on which the ruling and opposition parties disagree. If four of the six Commissioners vote in favor, it passes. These bills were handled with support from members of the ruling bloc, including the Democratic Party, which holds a majority.
The Sedition Special Act includes provisions to establish a trial panel dedicated to the "sedition and emergency martial law-related case" in which former President Yoon Suk-yeol and others have been indicted. Under the bill, sedition-only trial panels would be established for both the first instance and the second instance (appeals), and rules for appointing a sedition-only warrant judge would also be introduced. In addition, it would allow the maximum detention period under the Criminal Procedure Act—currently set at up to six months—to be extended to one year only for sedition and treason offenses.
The law distortion offense, which also passed, would allow punishment when a judge or prosecutor, during trial or investigation, distorts the law with an improper purpose or applies the law in a distorted manner due to a grossly erroneous assessment of the facts.
The amendment to the CIO act would allow the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to investigate all crimes, beyond offenses related to official duties that are currently within the office's investigative scope.
In addition, the amendment to the espionage law (Article 98 of the Criminal Act) that passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on this day expands the subject of the espionage offense from the current "enemy state" to "a foreign country or an organization equivalent thereto," allowing punishment for espionage on behalf of countries other than North Korea.
The People Power Party said it would seek a constitutional review of the Sedition Special Act. Na Kyung-won, a Legislation and Judiciary Committee member from the People Power Party, said, "Allowing outsiders to select judges at will violates the basic principle of judicial independence," adding, "A sedition-only trial panel completely strips away fairness and independence."
Chun Dae-yup, head of the National Court Administration, also said at the plenary meeting that day regarding the establishment of a sedition-only trial panel, "Just as dispositional laws (laws targeting specific individuals or cases) are, in principle, not permitted, the formation of a dispositional trial panel is also not permitted under the basic principles of advanced justice," adding, "The Ministry of Justice, which holds investigative and administrative powers, entering the judiciary's domain would be a significant restriction and infringement on judicial power."