SEOUL, December 23. /TASS/. The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea has voted to establish a special tribunal to deal with the rebellion in the form of an attempt to impose martial law, Yonhap news agency reported.

175 deputies supported the bill submitted by the ruling Democratic Party Toburo. Two abstained, and two more opposed. There are a total of 300 deputies in the National Assembly. Toburo controls the majority. The leading opposition party, the Civil Force, from which former President Yoon Suk Yeol ran in 2022, opposed the tribunal and boycotted the vote.

Yoon Suk Yeol and his political associates are accused of organizing a rebellion against the constitutional order by attempting to impose martial law on December 3, 2024. The Constitutional Court removed the president from power in April 2025. Leader of the Civil Force faction Jang Dong-hyeok tried to block the vote by speaking at the parliamentary podium for 24 hours and setting a record. Other deputies took advantage of the rules of procedure and stopped it by a majority vote 24 hours later.

The bill underpins the creation of a tribunal consisting of at least two groups of judges. The tribunal will deal with the cases of participants in martial law events if they are accused of rebellion or high treason. The judges of the Seoul Central District Court and the Seoul High Court will prepare instructions, based on which tribunal members will be selected. The bill stipulates that the tribunal will consider all such cases as the first instance, but it was decided that the cases that have already been initiated will remain in the same courts.

The initial version of this bill drew criticism from the legal community, because it assumed the participation of the justice minister in the work of the committee charged with the formation of the tribunal. Some experts saw this as a violation of the constitutional principles of separation of powers and the independence of the judicial branch of government. The updated version of bill excludes the participation of persons outside the judicial system in the formation of the tribunal.

On December 18, the National Judicial Directorate at the Supreme Court decided to prepare instructions for a new sedition tribunal. At that time, the South Korean media called the tribunal from the Supreme Court a possible alternative to Toburo’s initiative.