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Gordon G. Chang @GordonGChang - From a friend in Korea, about the ruling party’s dangerous attack on the country’s judiciary:
“I write to bring your immediate attention to a deeply concerning legislative development in South Korea.
The governing Democratic Party has recently pushed forward a bill through the Judiciary Subcommittee to establish a politically-controlled ‘Insurrection Court’— a measure that appears tailored to prosecute former President Yoon Suk-yeol and political opponents under broad, politically-charged ‘insurrection’ charges.
Below are the essential facts:
1. On December 1, 2025, the ruling party unilaterally passed the following bills in a judiciary subcommittee:
The Insurrection Court Act
The Judicial Distortion Crime Act
A bill to expand the powers of the High-Level Corruption Investigative Unit (akin to a political police force)
Source:
https://naver.me/II4bOKOC
2. If enacted, the law would grant the government extraordinary powers:
The ability to appoint judges loyal to the ruling party exclusively for ‘insurrection’ cases
The appointment of special warrant-judges specifically for such cases
The extension of pre-trial detention for ‘insurrection/external threat’ charges to up to one year
In effect, the government would be able to predetermine verdicts by hand-picking politically aligned judges.
3. The proposed expansion also targets judicial independence more broadly, widening the scope of the investigative unit and enabling prosecution of judges and prosecutors who resist political pressure.