Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae is seen heading to the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 4th. 2025.12.4 saba@yna.co.kr

Chief Justice Jo Hee-dae has stated that he will "discuss with the court presidents" the bills for establishing a special court dedicated to sedition and introducing a new crime of legal distortion, which recently passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee under the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea.

When asked by reporters on his way to work on the 5th about his stance on the establishment of a sedition-dedicated court and the introduction of the legal distortion crime, Jo stated, "We will discuss it at the meeting of court presidents."

When asked for his thoughts on the Democratic Party's goal of legislative processing within the year and how the judiciary's opinions will be gathered and conveyed at the court presidents' meeting, he only replied, "We plan to discuss it overall," and added, "I will listen to the opinions (of the court presidents)."

The Court Administration Office under the Supreme Court will hold a regular meeting of all court presidents at the Supreme Court building starting at 2 PM today. The court presidents will discuss the bills proposed by the ruling party to establish a special court for sedition and introduce a legal distortion crime during this meeting.

Previously, a representative from the Court Administration Office had requested that the national court presidents gather opinions from judges within their respective courts regarding the proposed legislation.

As some courts are known to have also gathered opinions on the proposal to abolish the Court Administration Office, which is being pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea, related discussions are also expected to take place.

On the 3rd, Chief Justice Jo attended a luncheon hosted by President Lee Jae-myung to mark the first anniversary of the state of emergency martial law, where he expressed his stance that "it is desirable for judicial systems to be established through thorough discussion and public consensus processes, as they perform crucial functions for protecting the rights of citizens and maintaining social order."

Yonhap News