Overview
- The DP-led Assembly passed three bills creating a crime of legal distortion, allowing constitutional complaints against court rulings, and expanding the Supreme Court from 14 to 26 justices.
- Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae asked lawmakers to review the measures to the very end, cautioning that sudden changes could harm the public and disputing claims of pervasive distrust in the courts.
- The People Power Party marched from the National Assembly toward the presidential office calling on President Lee Jae Myung to veto or return the bills, with no presidential decision reported.
- Chief judges nationwide expressed grave concern about longer trials and risks to judicial independence, warning that constitutional complaints add a de facto fourth review stage and that the distortion clause is overly vague.
- DP floor leader Han Byung-do pledged weekly March plenary sessions to push priority legislation, while critics and legal analysts say the court expansion could swiftly reshape jurisprudence and affect the legal environment surrounding the president’s paused cases.