Constitutional Court Begins Full Review on Constitutionality of Ministry of Justice Directive Prohibiting Disclosure of Criminal Cases

Chief Justice Yoon Nam-seok of the Constitutional Court is delivering a ruling on the constitutional complaint filed by the family of the late farmer Baek Nam-gi in December 2015, who claimed that the police's direct water cannon action violated the Constitution, at the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Constitutional Court has referred a constitutional complaint against the Ministry of Justice's directive that prohibits any disclosure of the charges and investigation status in criminal cases to the full bench, initiating a full-scale review.

According to the legal community on the 28th, the Constitutional Court transferred the constitutional complaint filed by Mr. Kwon on the 7th, claiming that Article 28, Paragraph 2 of the "Regulations on Prohibition of Disclosure of Criminal Cases" is unconstitutional, to the full bench.

This is the first time a constitutional complaint regarding this regulation has been referred to the full bench.

Earlier in January, a constitutional complaint filed by the civic group Committee for the Protection of the Working Class Livelihoods, arguing that the regulation prohibiting disclosure of criminal cases infringes on freedom of the press and the public's right to know, was dismissed at the preliminary review stage.

The Ministry of Justice established the "Regulations on Prohibition of Disclosure of Criminal Cases," which have been in effect since December 1 of last year.

This regulation prohibits any disclosure of the charges and investigation status of criminal cases and restricts disclosure only to exceptional cases.

In particular, Article 28, Paragraph 2 stipulates that "the media or any third party shall not be allowed to film, record, or broadcast live any part of the investigation process, including the attendance, interrogation, seizure, search, arrest, or detention of persons involved in the case."

Recently, the prosecution has been limiting the installation of photo lines during the transfer or summons of suspects in accordance with this regulation, causing repeated controversy.

Recently, there was controversy over limiting the installation of a photo line for Cho Ju-bin (24, detained), the operator of the Telegram 'Baksabang' who distributed sexual exploitation videos.

Mr. Kwon filed a constitutional complaint in March, arguing that this provision infringes on the public's right to know.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.