The Korean drama 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo' has been gaining attention not only in Korea but all over the world. As the story is about an attorney with autism, it is natural that the Korean jury system is often mentioned and seen in the scenes. In this post, we will take a deeper look into the Korean jury system as seen on 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'. Take a look at the filming locations for the popular tv show here! 

Korean Jury System

Source: Extraordinary Attorney Woo

A jury is a group of people taking part in a public participation trial where they sit behind the prosecutor and face the defendant and lawyers and participate in the prosecution and trial. They render a verdict once the trial is over. 

About the Jury System in Korea

In 2008, South Korea introduced the public participation trial system. Unlike the jury system in the United States, the jury in Korea determines guilt or innocence but is not legally binding. The judges then decide whether the defendant is innocent or guilty.

Source: Extraordinary Attorney Woo

Therefore, in principle, the jury verdict can be ignored. But if it is ignored, the jury system loses value, so it is rare that the jury's verdict goes ignored. 

In episode 10 of 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo', the jury came to a decision that the defendant was innocent, but the judge went against their verdict and sentenced the defendant to two years in prison. Furthermore, in episode 6, all the jurors voted guilty and demanded four years in prison, but the judge sentenced the defendant to one year and nine months in prison and three years of probation.

Source: Extraordinary Attorney Woo

The judge, in compliance with the jury, has to overturn the appeal in case of possible material errors. 

According to statistics, the percentage of defendants who are dissatisfied with the results of the trial by the national jury and request an appeal is 10% higher than that of ordinary trial cases. However, the percentage of change of sentencing after an appeal is also about 8% lower than that of ordinary trial appeals.

National Jury Participants

Source: Extraordinary Attorney Woo

The number of jurors varies depending on the severity and content of the sentence to be tried. Normally, there are about 5 people for simple cases, 7 people for general cases, and 9 people for maximum sentences and death penalty cases. Jurors are those who are at least 20 years of age and apply to be a juror. They are then selected by lottery. You have to answer a preliminary survey beforehand and answer it honestly. If you by any means are dishonest in your answers, you will be fined 2 million KRW. 

The jury system only applies to criminal cases, so there are no juries in civil cases, even in the tv show 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'. Jury judgments are based on unanimous votes, the same as it is in the United States. If the jury verdict is not passed, it must be re-discussed in the presence of the judge or the opinion of the majority will be applied. 

Source: The Jury

The Korean national jury is set up according to the defendant's wishes. If the defendant believes that the participation of the jurors in the trial will not effectively help the defendant, they have the right to refuse. 

Pros and Cons of the National Jury System

Source: Hangyoreh

There is no perfect law in the world. Take the United States as an example, a national jury verdict can easily overturn a judge's verdict. In South Korea, judges only refer to the results of the jury verdict and the real result comes from the judge's verdict. Both systems have different advantages and disadvantages. 

Source: The Jury

Politicians participation in jurors is also considered problematic. In political cases like false accusation and defamation when the political defendant wants to manipulate public opinion, he will choose to join the national jury system in an attempt to influence the judge. Although there is a pre-screening of whether the chosen jurors are of interest in the case, there is no way to know the political position of the juror through pre-investigation. Witnesses and observers may be influenced by the jury's political position. Thus, political cases are one of the most controversial issues in the jury system. 

Is there a national jury system in military trials?

Source: Beobryul Sinmun

South Korea's military trials implemented a jury system in addition to general trials in the Defense Reform 2.0 to protect human rights. If a defendant who is a soldier applies for jury participation, they randomly select a soldier who satisfies the defendant's rank. For example, if the accused is an officer, the jury consists of higher ranks like majors and colonels.

Source: Netflix 'D.P.'

During the process of participating in the jury, officers and soldiers are exempt from their original duties and can actively participate in trials. However, if the juror has some sort of connection to the case, he must petition for recusal, similar to general court rules. More importantly, for the sake of fair judgment, military law officers, military prosecutors, police officers, etc. are not allowed to be jurors. 

Today, we took a look at the Korean national jury system that is mentioned in the popular TV show, 'Extraordinary Attorney Woo'. Now that you know the basics of the system, you might be able to understand the story a lot better.

We hope you now have an idea of how the Korean jury system works! If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment below or send us an email at help@creatrip.com! You can follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook to stay updated on all things Korea!