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Leaders and lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) pose for a group photo with legal and academic experts during an emergency seminar on the unconstitutionality of installing a special court and creating a new offense of “distorting the law” at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Seoul on December 4. / Yonhap News

Marking one year since the December 3 martial law incident, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has launched a full-throated attack on the ruling Democratic Party’s push to establish a special court for insurrection cases and create a new offense of “distorting the law,” denouncing the plan as “100% unconstitutional.”

The PPP plans to stage a walkout from the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as a “message through action,” signaling that it does not recognize the legitimacy of the ruling party’s legislative drive and seeking to turn the political tide.

Some in conservative circles warn that the proposed insurrection-special court could be used to assign blame for martial law and punish former officials, while the broader “judicial package” containing the distortion-of-law offense is drawing criticism for undermining the independence of trials and investigations.

At an emergency seminar on the unconstitutionality of the special court and the new offense held at the National Assembly on December 4, PPP leader Jang Dong-hyuk said, “Korea has become a country where the prosecution is dismantled and special prosecutors are routine,” adding, “The rule of law is standing at the edge of a cliff.” He argued that the insurrection-special court “will not be a one-off,” calling it “a declaration to strip off the robes of judicial independence given by the people and to normalize special courts by appointing judges to suit the regime’s tastes.”

Jang went on to say, “If this bill passes the National Assembly, it may well mark the end of the rule of law in the Republic of Korea,” adding, “We convened this seminar with the desperate sense that this may be our last outcry for the country.” Floor leader Song Eon-seok also said, “Most constitutional scholars agree that creating an insurrection-special court is ‘100% unconstitutional,’” accusing the Democratic Party of “continuing its runaway destruction of the Constitution” and vowing that “the People Power Party will fight to the very end.”

PPP members of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee on December 3 staged a collective walkout from a full committee meeting after the ruling party pushed through a package of Criminal Code amendments, including the bill to establish a special court for insurrection cases.

Na Kyung-won, named as the PPP’s new senior member on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said that the insurrection-special court “will not be just a one-time measure,” warning that it would “seriously infringe on judicial independence, the separation of powers and the fairness of trials.”

On the proposed offense of distorting the law, she cautioned, “It will lead to an endless stream of criminal complaints against judges and prosecutors, and no one will want to touch complex cases,” adding, “Ultimately, this will affect not only political cases but also bread-and-butter cases tied to people’s livelihoods.”

Meanwhile, the PPP is seeking to intensify its offensive by linking the judicial reform controversy with the recent favoritism scandal involving text messages about personnel requests sent by Moon Jin-seok, deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, and Kim Nam-kook, presidential secretary for digital communications.

In a commentary, PPP chief deputy floor spokesperson Choi Eun-seok said, “The reality in which the chairmanship of a private organization changes hands on the basis of a single text from Secretary Kim is not an individual aberration but a structural problem,” adding, “If the presidential office thinks it can end the matter by cutting off the tail, public anger will only grow.”

PPP lawmaker Joo Jin-woo wrote on Facebook, “This is not an issue that can be wrapped up with Moon Jin-seok’s three-line apology and cutting off Kim Nam-kook as a scapegoat,” claiming, “Kim Nam-kook resigned simply because he dared to mention the ‘absolutely untouchable’ Kim Hyun-ji.” Joo called for a parliamentary confirmation hearing, a National Assembly investigation and a special prosecutor to fully uncover the truth behind the favoritism scandal.