Legislation Subcommittee Holds Off on 'Insurrection Trial Suspension Block Act'... "Constitutional Court Voices Caution"

Further Deliberations on the "Special Act on Anti-Human Rights State Crimes" and Other Bills

On December 8, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee discussed an amendment to the Constitutional Court Act in Subcommittee No. 1, which aims to prevent the suspension of trials for insurrection charges when a request for a constitutional review is made. However, the committee did not reach a conclusion and decided to continue discussions at a later date.

Kim Yongmin, Chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee No. 1, is presiding over a meeting at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee Subcommittee No. 1 on December 8, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

On this day, the committee convened Subcommittee No. 1 to deliberate on the "Amendment to the Constitutional Court Act," which was sponsored by Chu Mi-ae, Chairwoman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

The core of the amendment is to stipulate that even if a request for a constitutional review is made in criminal trials concerning insurrection or treason, the trial will not be suspended.

Currently, if the defendant requests a constitutional review, the ongoing trial is suspended until the Constitutional Court delivers its decision. However, if this amendment passes, criminal trials related to insurrection or treason would proceed without interruption.

The bill was introduced on December 1, then submitted to the full session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on December 3, and underwent review by the subcommittee on December 5.

Kim Yongmin, Chairman of Subcommittee No. 1 and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, explained to reporters after the meeting that the reason for holding the amendment was, "We believe that some of the opinions presented by the Constitutional Court require further internal discussion."

Kim further added, "Since the Constitutional Court expressed a cautious opinion, we felt it necessary to discuss that aspect more thoroughly within the committee, so we did not process it today."

The subcommittee also decided to continue discussions on the "Special Act on the Statute of Limitations for Anti-Human Rights State Crimes," which centers on abolishing the statute of limitations for crimes committed by state violence.

However, the subcommittee did process the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, which aims to expand the scope of disclosure for lower court rulings.

Kim stated, "Since both the court and the Ministry of Justice are in favor, we gathered and reflected their opinions in the process. Officially, it was processed through bipartisan agreement, but the People Power Party has expressed some dissenting views."

The People Power Party called for the withdrawal of the amendment to the Constitutional Court Act. Na Kyungwon, a member of the People Power Party, told reporters during the meeting, "As the controversy over the unconstitutionality of attempting to cover one unconstitutional act with another continues, the Democratic Party has decided to take a step back."

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