The Second Legal Affairs Committee Meeting Opened Without 야... Continuing 'Prosecutorial Reform' and 'Judicial Reform'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] At the Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting held on the 23rd amid the boycott by the United Future Party, ruling coalition lawmakers assessed the judiciary's commitment to 'judicial reform.' Following their calls for 'prosecutorial reform' at the committee on the 18th, they have now targeted judicial reform as the next step.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Nam-guk pointed out at the committee that day to Cho Jae-yeon, head of the Court Administration Office, "There is a strong public demand for judicial reform, and while I do not intend to belittle the judiciary's efforts, they have been insufficient." This remark was made with the judicial reform plan announced by Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo in March in mind.

He criticized, "Opening the Supreme Court's Ethics Audit position to external candidates is only a minor change and cannot solve the fundamental problem of judicial corruption." He added, "Referring to the Chief Justice as the owner or chairman and district court chiefs as subsidiary company presidents or bosses is the root cause of the chronic judicial corruption problem." He also pointed out that there are only four external members in the Judicial Administration Advisory Council as another issue.

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min also asked Cho, "The major factors of judicial corruption were interference in trials, trial trading, and a blacklist of judges. What measures are being taken?" He further inquired, "In March last year, the prosecution completed its investigation into judicial corruption and notified the Supreme Court of 66 individuals involved. What was the outcome?" In response, Cho said, "For 32 individuals whose statute of limitations had expired, no special review was conducted, and disciplinary committees have been convened for only 10 out of the remaining 34."

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Beom-gye criticized the court for giving more weight to the prosecution's testimony than that of Han Man-ho, a key witness in the case of former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, questioning whether this was a retreat from the principle of trial-centered justice. Cho refrained from commenting, saying, "I cannot speak about ongoing cases." Yoon Ho-jung, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, emphasized the urgency of judicial reform, stating, "The opinions of lawmakers reflect the voice of the people and should be incorporated into related policies." United Future Party lawmakers, who boycotted the committee meeting on the 18th, also did not attend this meeting.

Meanwhile, at the committee meeting on the 18th, lawmakers criticized Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae over allegations of the prosecution's cover-up related to the political funds law violation case involving former Prime Minister Han, demanding corrective action. Minister Choo acknowledged the need for correction and instructed Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl to have the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Human Rights Department and Inspection Department jointly investigate the case. Prosecutor General Yoon officially agreed to comply with the directive three days later, on the 21st.

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