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A lawmaker from the People Power Party holds a filibuster during a plenary session at the National Assembly on October 29, speaking on a revision to the Act on Testimony and Appraisal Before the National Assembly. / Source: Lee Byung-hwa

The People Power Party (PPP) on November 17 sharply criticized the Democratic Party’s push to extend the post-retirement practice ban for Supreme Court justices from one year to five years, describing the proposal as a reckless attempt at “judicial control” that threatens the country’s constitutional order.

In a statement, PPP senior spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said the Democratic Party is “justifying the bill under the banner of preventing special treatment for former judges, but in reality it is retaliation for the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn President Lee Jae-myung’s acquittal in his election law case and send it back for a guilty ruling.”

Park accused the Democratic Party of branding the Supreme Court’s decision as a “political verdict” and said its internal task force on “restoring trust in the judiciary” is “now moving to abolish the Court Administration Office outright, seizing control of judicial personnel decisions and demanding a tailor-made trial system.”

He further argued that a separate Democratic Party proposal—dubbed by the PPP as the “prosecutor dismissal bill”—would allow the government to fire prosecutors at will, including the prosecutor general, in a single day. “The Democratic Party has even threatened to slash to zero the special activity funds for any prosecution office with senior prosecutors participating in collective action. This is an abuse of power and an attempt to criminalize criticism of the administration,” Park said.

The PPP warned that “the entire constitutional order is being shaken to protect a single individual facing criminal allegations,” adding that such political overreach will ultimately “harm the public.”