The Democratic Party of Korea is moving faster to overhaul the criminal charge of breach of trust, long cited as an obstacle to corporate investment. With the government pushing a plan to abolish the charge and enact a special law in its place, the party said it will set its legislative direction after receiving a detailed briefing.
Rep. Kim Seung-won, the ruling party's chief negotiator on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, spoke to reporters on the 28th at a lawmakers' workshop preparing for the 2026 regular parliamentary session, held at the Inspire Hotel in Yeongjong, Incheon. On the discussion of abolishing the charge, he said, "Yesterday I heard from the vice justice minister that they are currently drafting and putting together provisions along the lines of a special law on property crimes."
Democratic Party members of the committee agreed at the workshop that the breach of trust system needs to be rationalized so that it does not excessively restrict corporate management activity. "I was told that once it is organized, they plan to report separately to the committee," Kim said. "The National Assembly also has plans and proposals as the legislature, so we will review the matter in detail once we receive the briefing." He added, "We will make sure it does not become an obstacle when companies make bold investments or shift direction."
The party also formalized its push for a special counsel law on fabricated indictments. Rep. Seo Young-kyo, who chairs the committee, said, "We had agreed to discuss the fabricated indictment special counsel after the local elections, and now that the new leadership is in place, we will discuss it together." She added, "There is a shared understanding that prosecutors must be held clearly accountable, because they have gone unpunished for countless wrongdoings."
Kim said, "The special counsel bill has already been introduced, and it was settled that the timing of its handling will be decided in consultation with the leadership." He added, "Our capacity is a little short because efforts are concentrated on follow-up bills to the Criminal Procedure Act and other measures."
On Chief Justice Jo Hee-de, who has drawn controversy over recommending Supreme Court justice nominees in writing, Kim said, "We concluded that the right course is for Chief Justice Jo to voluntarily withdraw the current nominee he recommended without consultation before the Court Organization Act was revised, and to make a new recommendation from among the remaining three candidates after consulting the president." He added, "If that does not happen, we will judge it to be a violation of the Court Organization Act and will proceed not only with the demand for his appearance as a witness on the 31st but also with the next steps."
