Seoul: The Democratic Party (DP) has announced plans to introduce an extraordinary bill to neutralize the statute of limitations on manipulated investigation results by law enforcement agencies. This initiative appears to be an effort to apply pressure on the prosecution before the Seoul Central District Court delivers its rulings on DP leader Lee Jae-myung's alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act and his purported subornation of perjury during his tenure as Seongnam mayor. The court's rulings are expected on November 15 and 25. According to Yonhap News Agency, the DP has also taken steps to appeal to the judiciary by significantly increasing next year's budget for the judiciary-the first such increase since 2016. With the majority party's support, the judiciary's budget has been augmented by 24.6 billion won ($17.6 million) beyond the government-proposed amount. Additionally, the DP passed a bill to reduce the required legal practice from ten years to five years for judiciary branch judge rec ruits, a bill the party previously voted against in the past legislature. These strategic maneuvers by the DP are closely tied to the impending court rulings concerning their leader, who is currently involved in four trials. The party's stance towards the judiciary has notably shifted. Following an incident last month where a DP member insulted Kim Tae-kyu, acting chair of the Korea Communications Commission and a former judge, during a legislative audit, DP leader Lee Jae-myung issued a stern warning to the lawmaker. Consequently, Rep. Kim Woo-young, the legislator involved, resigned from his party position. Furthermore, the DP concluded the audits of the Seoul High Court and the Supreme Court ahead of schedule. In contrast, the DP has adopted a confrontational stance towards the prosecution by completely eliminating the 58.6 billion won budget allocated for prosecutors' special activities. Rep. Chung Chung-rae, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, justified this decision by citing "a lack of clarity on the use of the money" by prosecutors. This marks a departure from the DP's earlier position during the Moon Jae-in administration when then-Justice Minister Park Beom-kye emphasized the necessity of the budget for special prosecutorial activities. If the budget was indeed inappropriate, the DP had the opportunity to address the issue during its time as the governing party. The majority party's refusal to approve the budget now appears to be a strategy to gain favor with the judiciary before the court's rulings on its leader. The DP's stance is likely to shift based on the court's decisions, underscoring the party's tactical maneuvering. It is hoped that the judiciary remains unswayed by such tactics from the majority party.