People Power Party to File Constitutional Challenge Against Ruling Party’s Renewed Push for Special Sedition Court

(Seoul=Yonhap Infomax) Da Ye On – The People Power Party (PPP) announced plans for legal action, arguing that the Democratic Party’s renewed push to establish a “special sedition court” is a clear violation of the Constitution.

Choi Soo-jin, PPP’s chief spokesperson for the parliamentary floor, told reporters after a floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly on the 25th, “The special sedition court raises significant constitutional concerns,” adding, “We intend to respond through legal channels.”

Regarding the specific response, Choi stated, “This move directly contravenes the Constitution and poses a major issue for judicial independence. We plan to file a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court.”

Previously, the Democratic Party had sought to establish a special court to handle three major special prosecutor cases—sedition, the Kim Keon-hee case, and the death of a Marine—last August. However, the initiative was suspended amid constitutional controversy within the legal community and concerns over a potential backlash among centrist voters.

The Democratic Party leadership, which had maintained a cautious stance, abruptly reversed course and officially announced on the previous day its intention to resume efforts to establish the special sedition court. Floor leader Kim Byung-ki stated at the party’s supreme council meeting, “The establishment of a special sedition court is a mandate from the people. We will proceed without delay once the President returns from his overseas trip.”

The special bill, titled “Special Act on Follow-up Measures for the December 3 Martial Law, Whistleblower Protection, etc.” (proposed by lawmaker Park Chan-dae), which includes the establishment of the special sedition court, is currently pending in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee.

Yoo Sang-bum, PPP’s deputy floor leader, criticized the Democratic Party’s move at the floor strategy meeting, saying, “This is tantamount to declaring an intent to turn South Korea’s judiciary into a tool of power, akin to the courts under Nazi Germany or the Chavez regime in Venezuela.”

Yoo argued, “Establishing a special sedition court directly violates Article 27 of the Constitution, which defines judges as prescribed by law. The constitutional principle is that judges and panels must be determined according to the law and the court’s administrative allocation plan, to prevent external interference or arbitrary assignment of cases to specific courts or judges under political pressure.”

He added, “In 1985, the UN General Assembly adopted the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, stipulating in Article 14 that case allocation is an internal matter of judicial administration. The Democratic Party is ultimately seeking to undermine judicial independence and create a ‘people’s court’ that delivers politically tailored verdicts, subordinating the judiciary to Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party.”

Choi, the PPP’s chief spokesperson, issued a separate statement, saying, “The establishment of a special sedition court openly violates Article 27 (‘judges prescribed by law’) and Article 101 (‘organization of courts at each level’) of the Constitution, and also conflicts with Article 110, which specifies that only military courts may be established as special courts.”

He continued, “If a special court is arbitrarily created at the request of the political sphere for ongoing trials, it constitutes the politicization of the judiciary and undermines the independence of trials guaranteed by the Constitution. It is nothing more than a threat to predetermine outcomes and demand favorable rulings at the behest of those in power.”

d​yon@yna.co.kr

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