(LEAD) National Assembly passes bill allowing Constitutional Court to review lower court rulings

▲ A revision to the Constitutional Court Act is passed at a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 27, 2026. (Yonhap)

▲ Rep. Kim Hee-jung (at the podium) of the main opposition People Power Party makes a filibuster speech at a plenary session of the National Assembly in Seoul on Feb. 27, 2026, to prevent a vote on a ruling Democratic Party-led bill calling for allowing constitutional appeals of court rulings, while Speaker Woo Won-shik closes his eyes in the speaker's seat. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) parliament-plenary session

(LEAD) National Assembly passes bill allowing Constitutional Court to review lower court rulings

(ATTN: UPDATES with bill's passage, other details; CHANGES headline, photo)

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly, led by the ruling Democratic Party (DP), passed a bill Friday allowing the Constitutional Court to review lower court rulings, including those finalized by the Supreme Court.

The revision to the Constitutional Court Act -- one of three judicial reform bills pushed by the DP -- passed 162-63, shortly after a filibuster by the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) ended.

Of the other two reform bills, one, which criminalizes "legal distortion," passed the Assembly on Thursday.

The third, which seeks to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from the current 14 to 26, was introduced at a plenary session after Friday's vote and is set to be voted on Saturday.

The ruling party, which currently holds a parliamentary majority, has argued the bills will better protect people's rights, while the PPP has strongly opposed them, accusing the DP of attempting to undermine the independence of the judiciary and filling the courts with justices favorable to the ruling camp.

The opposition has also 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 PPP has been staging back-to-back filibusters since the plenary session began Tuesday.

A filibuster involves lawmakers holding the floor for extended periods as a way to prevent a parliamentary vote or delay the passage of a bill. Under the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be stopped after 24 hours if at least three-fifths of all parliament members, or 180 lawmakers, consent to it.

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