Annotation

On June 3rd, 2025, following the early elections in the aftermath of the impeachment of former President Yoon Seok-yeol, Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party, was elected President of the Republic of Korea. Immediately after taking office, he launched an offensive against the judicial and investigative systems of the country. This decision was motivated by several factors. Firstly, there were numerous supporters of the former president within the court and prosecutorial bodies. Secondly, pending criminal cases against the current president, including a court of first instance verdict, could serve as a precedent for removing him from office. Thirdly, the attempt to suppress the opposition through the show trial of the former leader could encounter challenges, as the imposition of martial law during his tenure was viewed as unlawful by society, although it remained within the legal framework from a legal perspective. Using the controlled parliament, the government has launched an attack on the judicial system in several areas: the abolition of the prosecutorial office as an independent entity; the use of special investigation teams and courts instead of regular institutions; attempts to subordinate the Supreme Court to the Constitutional Court or increase the number of its members by adding "representatives of the public"; a bill that allows judges and investigators to be penalized for "misapplication of the law" if they make an ideologically incorrect ruling; direct pressure on judges, and so on. Although these actions of the Lee administration are not met with active opposition, they have laid the groundwork for a new round of constitutional conflict between the government and the judiciary, as well as illustrating the "unique characteristics of South Korean democracy," which is in no way based on the rule of law.