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.