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| ▲ Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok (R), leader of the main opposition People Power Party, participates in a rally at the National Assembly in Seoul on March 3, 2026, in protest of the Assembly's passage of three judicial reform bills. (Yonhap) |
main opposition-judicial reform
Main opposition party stages rally against passage of DP-led judicial reform bills
SEOUL, March 3 (Yonhap) -- Lawmakers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) staged a rally Tuesday in protest of a set of controversial judicial reform bills passed by the National Assembly, led by the ruling Democratic Party.
About 80 PPP lawmakers and party officials gathered at the National Assembly in western Seoul at 2 p.m. and began marching through Gwanghwamun Square before heading toward Cheong Wa Dae, in what the party described as a rally aimed at defending judicial independence and constitutional order.
PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok denounced the bills as measures that would "destroy the judiciary" and ultimately pave the way for a dictatorship under President Lee Jae Myung.
"I strongly urge President Lee Jae Myung to abandon his dreams of a long-term dictatorship and exercise his veto power against the three judicial destruction bills to uphold the constitutional order."
The three bills seek to establish a new offense of "legal distortion," allow constitutional appeals of court rulings and increase the number of Supreme Court justices from the current 14 to 26.
The PPP has questioned whether the bills are genuinely intended to advance judicial reform or to shield President Lee Jae Myung from his five criminal trials, which have been suspended following his presidential election last year.
The bills passed the National Assembly last week amid strong opposition from the PPP.
The lawmakers plan to hold a press conference after they arrive at Cheong Wa dae later in the day.
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