nam 22 uu 4500 10.59704/0c71f397fe4b8e29 DE-Verfassungsblog cr||||| 260422s2026||||xx#|||||o|||| ||| 0|eng|| 10.59704/0c71f397fe4b8e29 doi eng 342 23 Hart, Nina M. Author aut Judging the Judges - The Crime of “Legal Distortion” and Erosion of Democratic Resilience in South Korea Hart, Nina M. Verfassungsblog 2026-04-22 Text txt rdacontent Computermedien c rdamedia Online-Ressource cr rdacarrier On 12 March 2026, Korea’s new crime of “legal distortion” (법왜곡죄) entered into force. Judges and prosecutors who intentionally misapply the law to benefit or harm another person now face up to ten years’ imprisonment and suspension of their professional qualifications. The reform comes at a time of fragile public confidence in the judiciary: recent surveys show that trust is shallow and particularly low among younger generations. Yet this remedy risks deepening the very crisis it purports to address. CC BY-SA 4.0 Criminal Law democracy Judges Legal Distortion South Korea Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog gGmbH Verfassungsblog 2366-7044 https://verfassungsblog.de/south-korea-legal-distortion-democracy/ raw object