Seoul: The head of the National Court Administration offered to resign Friday, a day after the National Assembly passed a controversial judicial reform bill that faced opposition from the judiciary, legal sources said.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Park Young-jae expressed his intent to resign to Supreme Court Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae. This decision followed the approval of a bill by the ruling Democratic Party-controlled parliament, aimed at establishing a new criminal offense termed "legal distortion."
The legislation, part of three judicial reform bills promoted by the ruling party, seeks to impose a maximum prison term of 10 years on judges or prosecutors if they intentionally distort legal principles or manipulate facts.
Park had previously called for consideration of the judiciary's perspectives in the deliberations for the judicial reform bills. The National Court Administration is tasked with managing the administrative affairs of the judiciary, including budget management.