Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Alyallen]

South Korea to try jury system for first time
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?from=rss_World&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=nw20070503122133776C725451
By Jon Herskovitz

Seoul - South Korea plans to experiment with trial by jury, seeking to reform the antiquated legal system left over from decades of strong-man rule into one more suited to a modern democracy.

Legal professionals worry, though, that it could take years for judges, prosecutors and ordinary citizens to agree on whether the process can work in this country.

This week, parliament approved the biggest judicial reform measure since 1954 that would set up juries in certain criminal trials starting next January 1.

At first, their decisions will not be binding but will be used by judges as guidance for determining innocence or guilt.

"The Korean court system has been seen by the general public as being too authoritarian," said Hwang Ju-myung, who served as a judge for 12 years.

The current trial system is a slow and arduous process, largely closed to non-professionals, critics say.

Cases are mostly decided by depositions and other legal papers submitted to judges, thus diminishing the importance of testimony and evidence submitted in open court, they added.

Hwang, now an attorney with the international law firm Hwang Mok Park P.C., said judges and lawyers must revise their thinking and learn to present cases effectively to juries, and citizens must learn to judge others based on evidence presented in court.

"This is going to take more than 10 years," Hwang said, adding, "For the jury system to be successful, we need to have a better pre-trial and discovery system".

To start with, juries will be used in a select number of cases, and consist of nine, seven or five members depending on the type of crime, the Justice Ministry said.

Juries hearing cases such as murder will be the largest while five-member juries will be used in cases where the defendant has confessed, it said.

Their non-binding verdicts will be based on majority votes and jurors who accept bribes or leak confidential information can be subject to fines and imprisonment.

Neighbour Japan is also looking to introduce the jury system.

Other changes approved by parliament include measures to improve transparency and access to legal counsel.

Before South Korea's first free presidential election in 1987, the legal system was marred by strong-arm leaders working with compliant judges and prosecutors to put opponents behind bars.

Police were known to beat confessions out of suspects, often leading to innocent people being sent to jail, some even executed.

"Under the revision, the people will participate in trials," the mainstream daily JoongAng Ilbo said in an editorial on Tuesday. "These changes deserve our applause."

(With additional reporting by Jessica Kim)

It's an interesting idea but can it be done?

My questions are as followed:

Since Koreans tend to defer to others despite their own opinion, will a panel of jurists be able to objectively look at evidence?

Is 1o years enough time for jury trials to take hold?

People in the U.S. skip jury duty quite often, how do you think the average Korean will respond to a jury duty notice?

In the case of a non-Korean defendant, will bias play a role in jury decisons?

Do you think that after the implementation of the jury system, it will ever be given the full authority that a western style jury system has?

Questions? Comments?

[mindmetoo]

The Korea Times had an interesting little article about why Korean lawyers are so bad. You don't need to study law, you just have to pass the bar exam. So many Koreans just study (surprise) to pass a test. They don't learn actual lawyering skills or critical thinking.

I think a jury system without lawyers trained to be actual lawyers is going to be a huge disaster. But then this is Korea. Who knows.

[Alyallen]

[Hater Depot]

It sounds to me like the legislature is thinking carefully about all the issues mentioned and is intending to make this the start of wide-ranging legal reform. Sure, it will be very difficult and may take longer than 10 years, but it should wind up doing a lot of good.

[igotthisguitar]

CHALK ONE UP FOR DEMOCRACY.

Too many judges are Freemasons