File photo from Yonhap News. The Democratic Party has decided to amend the bill to establish a special court for sedition cases. It is understood that internal opinions, which pointed out that applying this law to the ongoing first trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol could be unconstitutional and that replacing the bench could delay the trial, were reflected.

The Democratic Party has decided to amend the bill to establish a special court for sedition cases.

On the 16th, the Democratic Party decided in a general meeting of lawmakers to amend four key provisions that are potentially unconstitutional.

First, they decided to amend the bill to establish a special court for sedition cases. It is understood that internal opinions, which pointed out that applying this law to the ongoing first trial of former President Yoon Suk-yeol could be unconstitutional and that replacing the bench could delay the trial, were reflected.

Accordingly, the amendment, through an addendum, stipulates that existing trials will be handled by the current court for first instances, and a special court will be established starting from the second instance (appellate trial).

Second, while the original bill included external figures such as the Minister of Justice on the recommendation committee for judges for the special court, it has been changed to consist only of internal judicial personnel. The recommendation committee will recommend judges, and the Chief Justice will then appoint them, addressing concerns that the original proposal infringed upon the Chief Justice's personnel rights.

The original proposal intended to form a nine-member recommendation committee by having the Secretary General of the Constitutional Court, the Minister of Justice, and the Judges' Association each recommend three members. However, the Constitution explicitly states, "The personnel authority of judges is the exclusive authority of the Chief Justice." Even pro-government legal experts have pointed out that external involvement in judicial personnel appointments is unconstitutional.

Third, the bill's title will be generalized from "December 3rd Yoon Suk-yeol Emergency Decree" to "Special Act on Special Trials Concerning Sedition and Treason." This change is in response to concerns that "dispositional laws," which take effect targeting specific individuals or cases, carry a high risk of unconstitutionality.

Finally, the most controversial provision, the "limitation on pardon power," has been deleted. It is understood that even legal experts with progressive leanings had concerns that directly limiting the President's inherent pardon power through a special law would be highly unconstitutional. Instead, the Democratic Party plans to prevent the pardon of individuals convicted of sedition through amendments to a separate "Pardon Act."

Additionally, the issue of extending detention periods (by one year) has not been amended at this time. However, discussions are reportedly underway within the party regarding its possible deletion.

By Reporter Lim Yo-hee