30 on the bench? DPK eyes radical Supreme Court expansion plan

Lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea hold a protest against the Supreme Court near its building in Seoul, Wednesday. The sign reads "Second insurrection! End the judicial coup!" Newsis

Lawmakers from the liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) have introduced a bill to significantly increase the number of Supreme Court justices from 14 to 30.

Known as “court packing,” the bill is seen by critics as an attempt to swiftly shift the ideological balance of the Supreme Court to align with the next president’s political agenda. The move comes as Lee Jae-myung, the DPK’s presidential candidate for the June 3 election, holds a wide lead in the polls. Currently, 10 of the 13 sitting justices are considered conservative or moderate, with one seat vacant.

The Constitution does not specify the number of Supreme Court justices. Instead, that is determined by the Court Organization Act, which can be amended with approval from the National Assembly. However, the size of the court has remained relatively stable, with around a dozen justices since the law was enacted in 1949.

The legislators who signed the bill said building a diverse bench is one of their objectives.

“The fact that the pool of potential candidates for the Supreme Court is virtually limited to senior justices makes it difficult to create a court that reflects diverse perspectives, including gender, generational and professional backgrounds,” Rep. Kim Yong-min said in the proposal. “In fact, many of the Supreme Court justices and nominees appointed in the last decade have been men in their 50s, former senior judges and alumni of certain universities, raising criticism of the composition of the bench.”

They also claimed the reform is needed to lessen the excessive workload for the justices.

"As of 2022, the number of appeals submitted to the Supreme Court exceeded 56,000 per year, which means each justice is overburdened with approximately 5,000 cases per year,” they said. “This has made it difficult to conduct in-depth hearings and deliberations, and has led to public distrust of the appellate system.”

Protesters hold a rally in front of the Supreme Court in Seoul, May 3. The sign read "Judicial mayhem, election intervention. Smash Cho Hee-dae's Supreme Court!" Newsis

But many view the legislative attempt as retaliation against the Supreme Court, which on May 1 overturned an earlier ruling that had cleared Lee of violating the nation's election law.

In the days following the verdict, the DPK ramped up pressure on the judiciary, threatening to impeach judges and justices who refused to comply with its demand to suspend all criminal trials involving Lee. As political pressure mounted, the Seoul High Court announced on Wednesday that it would postpone the May 15 hearing in Lee’s election law case to June 18.

In another move aiming to restructure the nation’s court system, a group of DPK lawmakers are drafting a bill that would allow the Constitutional Court to review the final rulings issued by the Supreme Court.

Article 68 of the Constitutional Court Act states: “Any person whose fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution are infringed by the exercise or non-exercise of governmental power — excluding court judgments — may file a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court.”

The bill would eliminate the phrase “excluding court judgments,” allowing the Constitutional Court to review whether Supreme Court rulings align with the Constitution, according to Rep. Chung Chin-ook.

“If it becomes reality (through the passing), there will be significant changes to the structure of the judiciary, with the Supreme Court being placed under the Constitutional Court as it will be subject to the judgment of the Constitutional Court,” Chung said.