Are the Jury Trials 'Vanishing' in Korea?- With a Discussion on Comparative Perspectives of the American Jury Trials -

The rate of jury trial requests and the rate of actual jury trials conducted in Korea has declined, raising a concern as to whether the public interest and demand in jury trials are diminishing in Korea. There are several factors that have contributed to the diminishing jury trials. The first factor is related to the criticism on the competency and emotional bias of lay jurors as to whether they can make right decisions based on the evidence and testimonies presented at trial. The second factor is that jury trials are believed to cause a lot of burden to the court system, prosecutors, and defense attorneys and that there are problems in assuring that defendants make informed decisions on jury trial requests. And the third factor is that judges have exercised wide discretion in deciding jury trial requests. The fourth factor is that currently there are some concerns in the management of jury trials because of time constraint. In this article, I addressed the merits of each factor and the related concerns. First, I responded to the criticism over jurors’ competency and emotional neutrality by arguing that their capacity has been underestimated and their role misunderstood. Secondly, I addressed the concern about the burden to the courts and attorneys. Third, I proposed that defendants should be provided with adequate and sufficient information so that they can make informed decision on jury trial requests. Fourth, the judges should not exercise their discretion too arbitrarily in denying jury trial requests. Fifth, more sufficient time should be allocated to voir dire selection so that potential jurors with biases or conflicts of interest can be screened out, and trial time should be extended when a large quantity of evidence and number of witnesses necessitate it. Jury trials should not remain merely as a symbolism for democratic judiciary. They should remain as the bulwark and beacon of democratic process in which public can participate in judicial decision-making along with the judges. Inconvenience from conducting jury trials should not be used as an excuse for shunning jury trials. Unfair trials should not be an option for criminal defendants or any parties for that matter.