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Assembly passes law 'distortion' bill, one of three pending judicial reforms

Published: 26 Feb. 2026, 19:00 Updated: 26 Feb. 2026, 19:04

The amended bill to partially revise the Criminal Act passes during the National Assembly’s 8th plenary session of its 432nd session at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Feb. 26. [NEWS1]

The National Assembly passed a revision to the Criminal Act on Thursday that would punish judges, prosecutors and other legal officials for “distorting" the law, with the ruling Democratic Party (DP) taking the lead.

The bill, one of the party’s so-called three judicial reform bills, passed the plenary session with 163 votes in favor, three against and four abstentions, with 170 lawmakers present. DP lawmakers Kim Yong-min and Choo Mi-ae, both members of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee and outspoken opponents of the bill, did not take part in the vote.

The revision would allow courts to sentence a judge or prosecutor involved in a criminal case to up to 10 years in prison and suspend their qualifications for up to 10 years if they distort the law during a trial or investigation with the intent of unlawfully benefiting someone or harming another person’s rights or interests.

The bill defines law “distortion” as applying a law while knowing its requirements are not met, or failing to apply a law while knowing it should apply, in a way that intentionally affects the outcome of a trial or investigation. It exempts discretionary judgments that fall within a reasonable range of legal interpretation.

The bill also classifies acts such as destroying, hiding, forging or altering evidence, using evidence known to be forged or altered, unlawfully collecting evidence through assault, threats or deception, or recognizing criminal facts while knowing there is no legally obtained evidence as law distortion.

A bill mandating the principle-based retirement of treasury shares, an amendment to the Commercial Act, is being passed at the plenary session of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul on Feb. 25. [YONHAP]

The DP revised the bill on Wednesday, citing concerns that the previous text could be challenged as unconstitutional for being overly vague.

The revision also includes a separate provision expanding the scope of espionage charges from acts committed for an “enemy state” to those committed for a “foreign country or an equivalent organization,” including leaks of state secrets and advanced technologies.

A new clause mandates a prison term of at least three years for anyone who, under direction or instigation by a foreign power, searches for, collects, discloses, transmits or brokers state secrets, or aids such acts.

The conservative People Power Party (PPP) denounced the bill as a “bad law” that would undermine the judicial system and began a filibuster on Wednesday. Ruling-bloc parties moved to end it Thursday afternoon after 24 hours and then passed the bill.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG HYE-JEONG [[email protected]]