South Korea to try jury system for first time

SEOUL, May 3 (Reuters) 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 Jan. 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 PC, 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.'' REUTERS SG HS1628