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DP leader reaffirms party's commitment to special investigations, judicial reform

Published: 26 Dec. 2025, 13:58

Jung Chung-rae, leader of the ruling Democratic Party, speaks during his first official press briefing at the National Assembly in Seoul on Dec. 26. [YONHAP]

The leader of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) said Friday that the party will move ahead with a package of judicial reform bills, while also pushing for special counsel investigations linked to former President Yoon Suk Yeol and the Unification Church.

The DP has been pushing legislation that would allow punishment of judges, prosecutors and police officers who distort the law or facts for improper purposes, as well as introduce a system that would allow the Constitutional Court to review Supreme Court rulings and raise the number of Supreme Court justices to ease their workload and speed up case handling.

In his first official press briefing since taking office in August, DP leader Jung Chung-rae said the party will “swiftly move ahead with the judicial reform bills without wavering.”

The conservative People Power Party (PPP) has strongly opposed the bills, accusing the DP of trying to undermine the independence of the judiciary and filling the courts with justices favorable to the ruling camp.

Jung said the party will also push for a second round of special counsel investigations that would combine three separate probes — former President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid, allegations involving former first lady Kim Keon Hee and the death of a young Marine.

He said the proposed special counsel is intended to examine unresolved parts of the three investigations to “put a clear end to all allegations,” adding that it will be the first bill the party plans to propose next year.

The DP will also seek a separate special investigation into allegations that the Unification Church provided illegal political funds to politicians and plans to propose the bill later in the day, Jung said.

“Collusion between religion and politics is strictly prohibited by the Constitution,” Jung said, referring to suspicions that the group donated to lawmakers.

Yonhap