Regarding the "law distortion offense" that the Democratic Party of Korea is pushing to introduce, Minister Jung Sung-ho of the Ministry of Justice said he agrees with legislating it. National Court Administration Minister (Supreme Court justice) Park Young-jae opposed introducing the law distortion offense.
On the 23rd, appearing at the The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session, Minister Jung said in response to a question from Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Jeon Hyun-hee about introducing the law distortion offense that he "agrees with the legislative intent." When asked, "If a judge or prosecutor intentionally misapplies the law, does that constitute a crime?" he answered, "Of course it constitutes a crime."
In response to a question from People Power Party lawmaker Cho Bae-sook, Minister Park said, "The law distortion offense lacks clarity in its content and carries a risk of abuse, so I believe it has unconstitutional elements."
Lawmaker Cho said, "Isn't this about punishing judges who hand down rulings or prosecutors who conduct investigations that don't suit the administration's taste under the law distortion offense?" She added, "If the law distortion offense is introduced, judges will be sued after handing down rulings and will have to go back and forth to investigative agencies. Will they be able to rule properly when intimidated?" Minister Park said, "There is (such) an aspect." He then said the National Court Administration holds an "opposing position" on the law distortion offense.
By contrast, Minister Jung answered a question from Lawmaker Cho by saying, "There are concerns about the potential for abuse, but in practice we do not see a high likelihood of (the law distortion offense) being abused."
Chief Justice Jo Hee-de met with reporters on the way to work that morning and, regarding the "appeal to the Constitutional Court against judgments" system at the center of a "four-tier appeals" controversy, said, "I would like to reiterate to the public and the National Assembly that it is desirable to decide after broadening the discussion to hear from experts and the public and going through sufficient debate."
Regarding a related question from Lawmaker Jeon, Minister Jung said, "There are concerns about the potential for (the appeals to the Constitutional Court) to be abused, but because it deals with basic rights violations in court rulings, we expect it will be operated in a limited way," adding, "We will need to design the details well in the course of implementation."
Minister Jung also said of the increase in the number of Supreme Court justices being pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea, "In the past, there was a considerable consensus that (an increase) was necessary," adding, "It would be good for the National Assembly to decide the scale."
On the "law to ban pardons for insurrection and treason" being pursued by the Democratic Party of Korea, Minister Jung said, "The president's pardon authority is also exercised as prescribed by law," adding, "If the legislature decides, we do not see any room for unconstitutionality." Minister Park said, "It is not appropriate for the National Court Administration to express an opinion."
The Democratic Party of Korea has announced it will push through the "three judicial reform bills"—increasing Supreme Court justices, appeals to the Constitutional Court against judgments, and introducing the law distortion offense. The People Power Party opposes the bills. Chief Justice Jo said that morning of the three bills that they are "issues that can directly harm the public" and "serious matters that could amount to constitutional amendments," reiterating his opposition.