Eight former presidents of the Korean Bar Association and six former presidents of the Korean Women Lawyers Association urged President Lee Jae-myung on the 4th to exercise the right to request reconsideration (veto) of the "three judicial bills," which passed the National Assembly led by the Democratic Party of Korea.
In a statement released that day, the eight former Korean Bar Association presidents and six former Korean Women Lawyers Association presidents said, "We call on the president to exercise the veto over the three judicial-destruction bills that undermine the rule of law."
They called the three judicial bills "a grave attempt to alter the power structure that shakes the foundations of South Korea's constitutional order," adding, "Nevertheless, they were pushed through without sufficient social consensus or constitutional review." They added, "We define this as a clear legislative runaway."
They said that if the retrial petition is introduced, it would become a "four-tier court system," making it a matter for constitutional amendment. They added, "This is a Critical opportunity for those in power to overturn Supreme Court final judgments at will, while the vast majority of ordinary people will become victims of the powerful dragging out time."
On the "crime of legal distortion," they called it "a dangerous penal legislation that breaks the principle of nullum crimen sine lege," adding, "It seeks to impose criminal punishment (on judges and prosecutors) even though the standards for what constitutes 'distortion' are unclear."
They continued, "Expanding the number of Supreme Court justices to 26 and having President Lee appoint 22 of them can only be seen as an attempt to seize control of the judiciary," adding, "Judicial independence will be seriously undermined."
They said, "Each provision of the three judicial bills individually carries serious constitutional defects," adding, "Taken together, they are a regressive overhaul that fundamentally shakes the judicial structure of South Korea and the order of separation of powers. They can never be packaged as reform."
The three judicial bills refer to amendments to the Criminal Act establishing the crime of legal distortion, amendments to the Constitutional Court Act introducing the retrial petition, and amendments to the Court Organization Act increasing the number of Supreme Court justices.
The statement was signed by former Korean Bar Association presidents Park Seung-seo (35th), Ham Jung-ho (39th), Jung Jai-hun (41st), Cheon Ki-hong (43rd), Shin Young-moo (46th), Ha Chang-woo (48th), Kim Hyun (49th) and Lee Jong-yeop (51st). From the Korean Women Lawyers Association, former presidents Kim Jung-sun (5th), Park Bo-young (6th, former Supreme Court justice), Lee Myung-sook (8th), Lee Eun-kyung (9th), Cho Hyun-uk (10th) and Wang Mi-yang (13th) took part.