By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
Leaders of the governing Grand National Party (GNP) again criticized the judiciary Thursday, claiming that a group of politically-motivated junior judges have hurt the nation by making biased rulings on major cases.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) dismissed the GNP's claim, saying the accusation was aimed at forcing judges to align with the ruling camp.
The two sides have agreed on the need to set up a bipartisan panel to overhaul the system, but they differ over what reforms need to be made.
The conservative GNP pinpointed flawed human resources management inside the judiciary as a source of the "inappropriate rulings," calling for experience and seniority to be established as the core prerequisites to become a judge.
The liberal DP said the judges had done their job and there was nothing wrong with the rulings, pointing out that the prosecution needed reform.
Partisan politics appears back in the judiciary after a court cleared MBC's PD Notebook Wednesday of defamation charges for falsely reporting on mad cow disease in American beef.
During a meeting with senior party lawmakers, GNP floor leader Rep. Ahn Sang-soo said that he was "stunned" by the rulings.
"The tyranny of the judiciary has reached its peak. I think that we shouldn't allow young and inexperienced judges to take care of such rulings alone. The GNP will seek to revise the law so that only experienced senior judges can deal with major cases," he said.
He urged Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon to take bold action to overhaul the judiciary.
But the DP sided with the judges, blaming the prosecution.
Rep. Park Joo-sun said the GNP was conducting a "witch hunt."
"The ruling party is attempting to put the judiciary in chaos and trying to replace the chief justice with a figure who can best serve the ruling camp's interest," Park said.
DP leaders claim that prosecutors are responsible for discrediting several liberal politicians, including the late President Roh Moo-hyun, saying they should be the target of reform.
The DP alleged that prosecutors investigated Roh and his aides over bribery scandals with little evidence, calling the investigations political retaliation.
The two sides also presented different opinions on the judges, who were responsible for the recent controversial cases.
GNP leaders pointed their fingers at the liberal judges as the epicenter of the biased rulings that have divided the nation.
They alleged that the young, inexperienced and liberal judges had interpreted the law in line with their political orientation.
The DP accused the ruling party of smearing the reputations of the judges, who had done their job properly.