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The Democratic Party has announced five judiciary reform plans, including an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices.
The plans include significantly increasing the number of justices to 26 incrementally and improving the judicial evaluation system to restore public trust in the judiciary.
Reporter Kim Sang-hoon has the story.
◀ Report ▶
The Democratic Party’s Special Committee on Judicial Reform announced five judiciary reform plans and proposed related legislative amendments just over two months after its launch.
First, they plan to increase the current number of Supreme Court justices from 14 to 26 by adding four justices each year over three years.
It was pointed out that one Supreme Court justice is working on 5,000 cases annually, leading to heavy workloads, and that the public is not receiving prompt trials.
In response to criticism that this could be an attempt to control the judiciary under the current government, it was explained that the next administration was designed to appoint the justices evenly.
[Bae Hye-ryun / Chairman of the Democratic Party’s Special Committee on Judicial Reform]
“During President Lee Jae-myung’s term, a total of 22 justices will be appointed, and the next president will also appoint the same 22 justices.”
External checks on the judiciary will also be strengthened.
To improve the closed judicial personnel structure, they plan to diversify the composition of the Supreme Court Justice Recommendation Committee and implement a judicial personnel evaluation system reflecting assessments from lawyers.
Furthermore, there are plans to fully disclose lower court judgments that have not been finalized to enhance transparency.
Lastly, a preliminary hearing system is included for the search and seizure warrant system, which is currently conducted solely on document examinations, allowing opinions from the parties involved or investigation agencies during the warrant review process.
Although the ‘trial appeal’ proposal, which allows for the Constitutional Court’s judgment after the Supreme Court’s three-trial system, was excluded from the reform plan after discussion, the Democratic Party intends to push forward with it following public consensus.
The People Power Party criticized the plan, saying, “Filling the judiciary, whose independence and impartiality are vital, with personnel aligned with specific codes, and essentially setting up a Supreme Court secretariat within President Lee Jae-myung’s office.”
This was MBC News, Kim Sang-hoon.
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