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President approves judicial reforms in face of opposition

Published: 05 Mar. 2026, 19:19 Updated: 05 Mar. 2026, 19:53

President Lee Jae Myung, center, enters a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House in Seoul on March 5. [NEWS1]

President Lee Jae Myung approved a sweeping set of judicial reform laws on Thursday despite strong opposition from top judiciary figures and conservative lawmakers. The legislation will expand the Supreme Court, criminalize the misapplication of laws by judicial officials and allow constitutional challenges to final court rulings.

The Cabinet passed the measures during an extraordinary meeting chaired by Lee at the Blue House, approving seven bills that had previously cleared the National Assembly without revision.

Supporters describe the legislation as a long-overdue effort to hold legal officials accountable and modernize the judiciary. Critics, including senior judges and the conservative People Power Party (PPP), warn that the changes could undermine judicial independence and weaken the authority of the courts.

One of the most contentious provisions creates a new criminal offense commonly referred to as “legal distortion.” The amendment to the Criminal Act allows prosecutors to indict investigators, prosecutors or judges who deliberately misinterpret the law, fabricate or illegally obtain evidence or uphold charges despite the absence of lawful proof. Violators could face up to 10 years in prison and disqualification from holding public office.

Another measure amends the Constitutional Court Act to allow constitutional complaints against rulings in final appeals. The change enables the Constitutional Court to review whether a decision violated a defendant's constitutional rights, a step critics say effectively introduces a fourth layer of judicial review in Korea’s court system.

The third measure expands the number of Supreme Court justices from 14 to 26 by amending the Court Organization Act. The government will add four justices a year for three years. Because 10 current justices are due to retire during Lee’s five-year term, the president is likely to appoint 22 justices to the court’s expanded 26-member bench.

The court expansion will take effect in 2028. The new crime of distorting the law in judicial rulings and the amendment allowing constitutional complaints will take effect immediately upon promulgation.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok, center, speaks during a supreme council meeting at the National Assembly building in Seoul on March 5. The party replaced the meeting backdrop with the phrase “Judicial justice destroyed for one person.” [NEWS1]

Chief Justice Jo Hee-de publicly opposed the legislation earlier this week.

“I ask the public to carefully consider that it is not desirable to disparage our judicial system without grounds or demonize individual judges over specific rulings," he told reporters on Tuesday.

The PPP also condemned the legislation and staged protests against it. Party lawmakers marched from the National Assembly building in western Seoul to the Blue House on Tuesday. They also held a rally outside the Blue House shortly before Thursday’s Cabinet meeting.

“Promulgating these bills aimed at destroying the judiciary completely denies the rule of law in Korea,” said PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog.

Despite the backlash, the administration moved forward with the legislation, saying it respected the outcome of parliamentary deliberations — a decision widely interpreted as an effort to accelerate judicial reform as the courts have yet to present their own reform plan.

"President Lee generally respects discussions in the National Assembly and the ruling party," an official from the president's Democratic Party said. "He would not simply ignore the National Assembly's legislative process and exercise his veto.”

Blue House spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said the government had reviewed both the substance of the legislation and the legislative process before approving it.

“Since the legislation was passed through the prescribed procedures in the National Assembly, the Blue House believes it is appropriate to approve and promulgate it in accordance with constitutional procedures," she said.

Lee also publicly defended the legal distortion provision a day earlier. Writing on X while on a state visit to Manila in the Philippines, he said, “Fabricating evidence or manipulating cases with the investigative and prosecutorial authority entrusted by the people — to kill, take away and imprison someone — is worse than crimes like robbery, kidnapping or murder committed by ordinary criminals.”

President Lee Jae Myung, second from left, speaks at a Cabinet meeting at the Blue House in Seoul on March 5. [NEWS1]

The Cabinet also approved several other measures on Thursday.

One establishes a special law to integrate the administrations of South Jeolla and the city of Gwangju, marking the first case of a metropolitan-level administrative consolidation pursued by the Lee administration. The new integrated entity will receive a status and authority comparable to the Seoul city government. It will also receive 20 trillion won ($13.6 billion) in financial support over four years, along with priority in hosting public institutions relocated as part of efforts to promote balanced regional development.

Amendments to the Local Autonomy Act promulgated the same day also establish the legal basis for the integrated special city and set the number of vice mayors at four.

The Cabinet also approved amendments to the Referendum Act, widely seen as a prerequisite for constitutional revision. The amendment guarantees overseas Koreans the right to vote in national referendums by including those registered on overseas voter lists. It also requires referendums on constitutional amendments to take place on the Wednesday immediately preceding the 30th day after the National Assembly passes a constitutional revision bill.

The change resolves an 11-year legislative gap after the Constitutional Court ruled in July 2014 that the existing law’s restriction on overseas voting violated the Constitution.

Another bill revises the Commercial Act by requiring companies, in principle, to cancel treasury shares within one year of acquiring them. The measure takes effect immediately upon promulgation.

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 YOON SUNG-MIN, HA JUN-HO [[email protected]]