On the 5th, a nationwide meeting of court chiefs was held to discuss the judiciary's views and response plans on the bills to establish a special court division dedicated to insurrection cases and to create the so-called "law distortion offense," which passed The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee under the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea.
With the broader pro-government camp saying it aims to pass the related bills within the year, the judiciary placed them as key agenda items at the nationwide court chiefs meeting.
The National Court Administration (Minister Chun Dae-yup, Supreme Court justice), a judicial administrative body under the Supreme Court, and court chiefs from all levels nationwide held the regular nationwide court chiefs meeting from 2 p.m. that day in the main conference room of the Supreme Court building in Seocho-dong, Seoul. The nationwide court chiefs meeting is a body attended by the chief judges of courts at all levels except the Supreme Court, the head of the National Court Administration, the president of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, the president of the Judicial Policy Research Institute, and other top-ranking judges of key judicial institutions.
At this meeting, not only routine judicial administration reviews but also legislative pending issues such as establishing a special court division for insurrection, creating the law distortion offense, and abolishing the National Court Administration are to be discussed intensively. Ahead of the recent meeting, the National Court Administration asked each court chief to collect and convey the opinions of their judges on the related bills.
In his opening remarks, Chief Justice Jo Hee-de said regarding recent discussions on judicial system reform, "Because the judicial system performs the critical function of protecting the rights of the people and maintaining social order, once it changes, its impact is broad across society and lasts for many years," adding, "If it is reformed in the wrong direction, the result could directly cause irreparable harm to the people."
Chief Justice Jo said, "Judicial system reform is desirable when it is carried out prudently based on the judgment of experts equipped with theory and practice after sufficient discussion and a process of public deliberation." He added, "Public expectations and demands of the judiciary are greater and weightier than ever," and, "All the more at such a time, we must remind ourselves that fulfilling our constitutional mission of 'guaranteeing the basic rights of the people through fair and swift trials' is the way to regain the people's trust."
The bills at issue were approved on the 3rd at a full session of The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, led by the Democratic Party of Korea. The bill to establish a court division dedicated to insurrection contains provisions to set up a special court division to exclusively handle insurrection cases involving Yoon Suk-yeol, the former president, in connection with the so-called "12/3 martial law." The bill to create the law distortion offense includes a provision allowing criminal punishment when a judge or prosecutor intentionally distorts legal principles or fabricates facts in cases under trial or currently investigating.
Meeting reporters on his way to work that day, Chief Justice Jo, when asked about his position on establishing an insurrection division and creating the law distortion offense, said, "I will listen to opinions and discuss it at the court chiefs meeting." Based on the outcome of this meeting, the judiciary is seen as likely to consider formulating an official position.
At this regular meeting, in addition to the bills on a special court division for insurrection and the law distortion offense, reforms to the judicial administration organization, including abolishing the National Court Administration, and measures to strengthen judicial ethics are also expected to be discussed. The National Court Administration has repeatedly been the subject of reform debates over its role and status.
Earlier in September, the Supreme Court also held an extraordinary nationwide court chiefs meeting to discuss issues related to judicial reform legislation being pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea. The extraordinary meeting was convened for the first time in three years since discussions on COVID-19 measures, and after the meeting, the court chiefs said in a statement, "Judicial independence must be guaranteed," and, "The judiciary's participation is essential in the process of discussing system reform."