Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae closes his eyes while observing the heated exchange between ruling and opposition party lawmakers during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit on the 13th. Yonhap News. 

Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae stated regarding the Democratic Party of Korea's judicial reform proposal that he would "ensure the judiciary's opinions are sufficiently presented during the public discourse process."

Chief Justice Cho gave this response on the morning of the 21st while arriving at the Supreme Court, when asked by reporters for his stance on the judicial reform proposal announced the previous day by the Democratic Party's Special Committee on Judicial Reform.

Regarding concerns that "the Democratic Party's proposal could create a redundant administrative layer over the judiciary," he replied, "I will discuss it sufficiently internally before commenting further," before entering the building.

The Democratic Party's Special Committee on Judicial Reform held a press conference at the National Assembly the previous day and announced a 'judicial reform proposal' centered on increasing the number of Supreme Court Justices (from 14 to 26).

According to the proposal, the number of Supreme Court Justices would be increased by 12 over three years, adding four justices each year starting one year after the bill is promulgated. Once the '26-justice system' is completed in three years, the Supreme Court would operate under a system of six petty benches and two joint benches.

For final rulings on highly significant cases, the proposal allows for the formation of a collegiate body involving two-thirds or more of all Supreme Court Justices, which would require the consent of a majority of the joint bench justices to reach a verdict.

Yonhap News