The ruling Democratic Party(DP) has launched a special committee on judicial reform, and pledged to prepare a bill by the Chuseok Thanksgiving holiday in early October to likely more than double the number of  Supreme Court justices.

The committee held an inaugural ceremony on Tuesday at the National Assembly, and vowed to introduce before Chuseok a bill which will include an increase in the number of Supreme Court justices, change the recommendation procedure for the justices, and change the evaluation system for judges.

DP Rep. Lee Geon-tae, who has a legal background and is a senior member of the committee, told reporters that the increase in the number of Supreme Court justices has yet to be confirmed, but that committee members are in consensus that the number should be around 30, up from the current 14.

Lee noted there were problems in the current recommendation system and that the committee aims to devise a system that ensures a diversity in the lineup of justices.

Still he stressed that the new justices will be composed of experts in the legal field.