South Korea Passes Key Judicial Reforms: Court of Justice Act & Supreme Court Justices Increase Act

On the 11th, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Court Organization Act and an amendment to the Constitutional Court Act to increase the number of Supreme Court justices and allow constitutional complaints to be filed against Supreme Court rulings.

The Legislative and Judiciary Committee held a plenary meeting this afternoon and passed the two amendments led by the ruling party, including the Democratic Party of Korea. People Power Party lawmakers protested against the amendment and walked out and did not participate in the vote.

The main content of the amendment to the Court Organization Act to increase the number of Supreme Court Justices is to gradually increase the number of Supreme Court Justices from the current 14 to 26.

The key to the amendment to the Constitutional Court Act is to allow constitutional complaints to be filed against the Supreme Court’s ruling.

As the two bills pass the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, the plenary session of the extraordinary session of the National Assembly in February, as promised by the Democratic Party, is expected to gain momentum.