The Democratic Party of Korea on Wednesday introduced a series of bills aimed at acquitting Lee Jae-myung, the party's presidential candidate, and taking retaliation against the top court for overturning an earlier ruling that cleared him of violating election law.
The Democratic Party, using its National Assembly majority, convened a meeting of the judiciary committee and unilaterally passed a bill revising the Election Act to remove the provision that Lee had earlier been found guilty of.
The revised bill, which will be put to a vote at the next plenary meeting of the Assembly, would acquit Lee in the upcoming High Court ruling on his election law violation case. The Democratic Party came up with the bill the day after the Supreme Court's unfavorable ruling on May 1.
The Democratic Party also tabled a bill for opening a special counsel investigation of Cho Hee-de, the Supreme Court's chief justice, accusing him of interfering in the presidential election by issuing a ruling finding Lee guilty during the election season.
Another bill proposed by the Democratic Party the same day seeks to physically lower the seats of judges, which are usually elevated on a higher platform in the courtroom. Rep. Kim Yong-min, who authored the bill, said the bill is intended to ensure that all participants in a courtroom are on equal ground.
While the Democratic Party summoned Cho and the rest of the Supreme Court justices to the Assembly hearing Wednesday, the top court declined.
The People Power Party protested the Democratic Party-led bills as an "abuse of legislative authority aimed at batting Lee's legal risks away."
Rep. Yoo Sang-bum, the People Power Party deputy chair of the Assembly judiciary committee, said the Democratic Party was "arbitrarily changing laws and threatening the judiciary's independence to suit Lee's interests."
Lee, who faces five ongoing criminal trials, if elected could become the first sitting South Korean president on trial for a criminal offense. Last week, the Democratic Party advanced a bill for putting criminal trials on hold once a defendant is elected president. The bill awaits a final vote at the next plenary meeting.
arin@heraldcorp.com
