SEOUL, South Korea — Korean conservatives are watching, helpless, from the sidelines as President Lee Jae-myung and his Democratic Party of Korea consolidate power with a push to remake the courts.

Fears are growing that with both the executive and the legislature in liberal hands, the nation’s third power base is at risk.

Then-President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law last December was partly aimed at reining in a hostile National Assembly. The shock tactic proved a colossal blunder. Mr. Yoon was impeached, which opened the gate for Mr. Lee to win last week’s June 3 presidential election.

He holds executive office through June 2030. His DPK will remain the biggest party in the unicameral legislature until the next general election in 2028 — rendering the conservative People Power Party politically powerless for three years, possibly longer.

Meanwhile, civic society largely sides with the DPK, and many conservatives have deserted right-wing media for YouTube bloviators, diluting the power of the press.

All that stands between the president, his party and an entirely free run is the judiciary. 

The DPK moved to reform a key arm of that institution one day after the presidential election.

Bringing justices to heel

On June 4, the party passed a revision to the Court Organization Act, enabling the expansion of the bench of the Supreme Court from 14 to 30 justices.

Per the act, four new justices can be appointed every year, raising fears that the DPK could load the bench.

With the PPP powerless, only Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae pushed back, telling reporters that he hoped for public debate on the matter.

The expansion was an electoral pledge by Mr. Lee and has been discussed before — without action. One critic smelled a rat.

“Arbitrarily expanding the bench to 30 justices could render full-member decisions virtually impossible,” said Kim Tae-hoon, founder of conservative lawyers’ group Hanbyun. “The sudden push for expansion stems from the desire of President Lee and his party to shape the judiciary in their ideological image.”

It also smacks of retaliation, Mr. Kim suggested. The Supreme Court on May 1 demanded the Seoul High Court retry Mr. Lee for alleged election violations back in 2022 — one of several long-simmering cases pending against him.   

And on Thursday, Mr.  Lee nixed two candidates nominated in April by then-acting President Han Duck-soo to replace judges retiring from the Constitutional Court. Mr. Lee’s spokesman said that Mr. Han — who was subsequently impeached by the DPK — had lacked the authority to make the appointments.

It has been reported that Mr. Lee is mulling nominating his personal defense counsel to the court’s bench. That would “amount to turning the judiciary into a private law firm,” a PPP spokesperson fumed.

“We are very worried about the legitimacy of appointees,” Mr. Kim added.

The DPK shot back.

“We don’t understand what the conflict of interest is supposed to be,” Yonhap News reported, citing an unnamed official. “Does it mean anyone who worked on the president’s cases can’t take a public job?”

The legislature also passed on Thursday bills to launch special counsel probes against Mr. Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee.

Mr. Yoon is already embroiled in a court battle over martial law. The DPK has consistently alleged that his wife accepted a luxury handbag as a gift in return for possible political favors, and manipulated stock prices.

Prior DPK attempts to pass special investigative bills were overturned by presidential veto — a defense that has now evaporated. The PPP largely boycotted voting, to no effect.

“As ex-President Yoon is facing criminal procedures, why do they need a special committee?” Mr. Kim asked. “I think it is unnecessary, excessive.”

On Monday, Seoul High Court announced that it was postponing Mr. Lee’s retrial on the 2022 electoral law violations.

Though Mr. Lee has presidential immunity from all charges bar treason and insurrection, Mr. Kim insists that the trial should take place.

He opined that Article 84 of the Constitution offers presidential immunity during tenure, but that does not extend to crimes committed pre-tenure.

“Seoul High Court should proceed,” he said. “They gave up the independence of the judiciary.”

‘Fortifying the castle’

The classic check in South Korean politics has traditionally been the Assembly balancing the powers of the presidency, though there have been occasions when the same party held both.

Conservatives are predictably wringing their hands — and issuing warnings.

“I am gravely concerned about his attempt to destroy the very foundation of South Korea’s liberal democratic system and to emulate its neighbors — North Korea under Kim Jong-un and China under Xi Jinping,” said conservative columnist Hanjin Lew.

Saying that the PPP is “in ruins,” he urged the U.S. to keep watchful eyes on Korea.

Lawyer Kim was more measured, but accused Mr. Lee of seeking to “undermine the independence and authority of the judiciary.”

Some moderates also worry.

“This is not normal at all: President Lee is ‘fortifying his castle’ to protect himself from being prosecuted in any legal settings,” said Yang Sun-mook, who has operated on both sides of the political spectrum. “A lot of intellectuals are worried.”

Mr. Yang formerly advised the predecessor of the DPK on foreign affairs, and more recently, joined the camp of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who made a brief and unsuccessful bid for PPP leadership in the run-up to the presidential election.

Mr. Yang observed that even an unofficial check on political overreach — South Korea’s lively civil society — largely sides with the DPK. Though conservatives rallied in huge numbers behind Mr. Yoon, they did not sustain street presence during the election campaign.

“I think everyone should support the new president but at the same time, should check what he is doing,” Mr. Yang suggested. “In good time, journalists and legal experts should send warning signals.”

Yet a worst case is feasible, he admitted.

“It is up to President Lee to be objectively democratic,” he said. “If he claims all three power bases, there will be nothing to stop him doing whatever he wants.”

• Andrew Salmon can be reached at asalmon@washingtontimes.com.