The Democratic Party of Korea is pushing for a revision of the court organization law that would allow non-attorneys without qualifications to be appointed as Supreme Court justices, to which the People Power Party criticized on the 23rd, calling it an "attempt to dismantle the judiciary."
Na Kyung-won, joint chairman of the People Power Party's election campaign committee, pointed out on her Facebook that this is "a scenario to create a judiciary that suits their taste, allowing criminals to evade legal judgment and eliminate political opponents, completing a dictatorship."
She continued, saying, “What they call ‘knowledge and virtue’ is nothing but a declaration to plant loyalists of the Democratic Party in the judiciary,” adding, “The damage will inevitably return to the people.”
The court organization law revision bill, which Park Beom-kye of the Democratic Party is preparing to propose, includes provisions to expand the qualifications for appointing Supreme Court justices, which were previously limited to judges, prosecutors, or lawyers with over 20 years of service, to also include those with "knowledge and virtue, extensive experience in various fields, and legal literacy," increasing the number of Supreme Court justices from the current 14 to up to 30.
Joo Jin-woo, head of the negative response team for the People Power Party's central election campaign committee, also condemned the plan on his Facebook, stating, “It means appointing anyone as a Supreme Court justice,” and asserted that it should be called dismantling the judiciary, not seizing it.
Joo noted, “It is obvious that someone like Yoo Si-min will argue, ‘I have been through defamation trials, so I have experience and legal literacy,’ pointing out that the goal is to fill the 30 Supreme Court justices with sycophantic civic activists to Lee Jae-myung.”
Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon also directly criticized this on Facebook, saying, “The Democratic Party says it will make those who are not qualified legal professionals into Supreme Court justices,” adding, “They are trying to appoint people like Kim Eo-jun as justices to judge the people.”
Spokesperson Choi Young-hae criticized, saying through a comment, “Who are they trying to appoint as a Supreme Court justice without a lawyer's license?” and added, “This is a disgrace to the judicial order and a ploy to create a ‘bulwark court’ that prevents candidate Lee Jae-myung, who is facing five criminal charges, from facing legal judgment.”
However, the Democratic Party stated that this is not the official position of the party.
Democratic Party member Jo Seung-rae met with reporters in front of former President Roh Moo-hyun's residence in Bongha Village, Gimhae, on the morning of the same day and said, “(The bill proposed by Park) cannot be said to be the party’s position,” adding, “I think he has organized his thoughts and drafted a bill. It will be sorted out during the committee discussions and will be adjusted in consultation with the People Power Party and other parties.”