Korean Jury Trial: Has the New System Brought About Changes?

Jae-Hyup Lee, Seoul National University School of Law

Abstract

This paper describes the major driving forces behind the introduction of the jury system in Korea and general expectations the new system was meant to bring about. It seeks to determine whether the expected changes are actually occurring, what kinds of problems have arisen, and what implications can be drawn for the future based on the first two years of jury trial operations. Data for this study was drawn from statistics collected by the National Court Administration and the author’s own observations of the trials, as well as interviews with the presiding judges of the jury trials.