How to neutralize the separation of powers

Both parties must immediately stop intervening in the judicial process and calmly wait for a court ruling.

With just two days left before the Seoul Central District Court delivers its first ruling on Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung’s alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act, the majority party is engrossed in pressuring the court. A group of lawmakers loyal to the DP leader is poised to submit a petition to the judges to demand a not-guilty verdict from them after claiming that over one million people have already signed the petition against a possible guilty ruling. The majority party also plans to stage a massive rally in front of the court to put pressure on the bench on Friday, when the court hands out its first ruling.

Court trials are a procedure in which judges reach a conclusion on the defendant according to the law. If any outside forces attempt to affect the process, it inflicts critical damage on the principle of democracy. All the charges against the DP leader are not related to the party at all. Nevertheless, the DP is bent on protecting its boss by pressuring the bench to deliver a ruling finding Lee not guilty. If this is not a violation of the principle of the separation of powers, what is?

The DP openly pressured the head of the Seoul High Court to acquit Lee of all the charges against him in the legislature’s recent audit of the judiciary branch. Some hard-core supporters of the party are even calling for the impeachment of all the judges if they find the DP leader guilty. Their threat to stage a large-scale rally in front of the court on Friday is nothing but blackmail against the judiciary.

But sadly, the governing People Power Party (PPP) is no different. On Tuesday, the PPP leadership demanded the trial process be covered live, claiming that the person refusing the demand is a criminal. A PPP lawmaker has been holding a one-person demonstration before the court to demand a live broadcast of the trial.

Whether to broadcast the trial live or not should be decided by the chief judge, not by politicians. Another PPP legislator even said, “The bench is expected to deliver a sentence of an 800,000 won ($568) fine on the DP leader.” The lawmaker based his estimate on the need for the court to hand out a sentence of less than a 1 million won fine, as Lee cannot run in the next presidential election if the amount of the fine exceeds 1 million won. That reflects political logic, not legal logic.

If politicians flex their muscles before the court delivers a ruling, it destroys the foundation of democracy. Both parties must immediately stop intervening in the judicial process and calmly wait for a court ruling.