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The traditional style of a Korean criminal trial, in which the prosecutor asks a long-winded question and then the defendant is required to give a short "yes" or "no" answer, will soon be a thing of the past in many of the country's courts.
For example, the prosecutor, instead of interrogating the accused by asking, "You've held a grudge against the victim for a long time, so you stabbed him to death in his room on July 8th, didn't you?," will fragment the question, "Did you meet the victim on July 8th?," followed by "Where did you two meet?," and "Did you stab the victim?," giving the accused a chance to explain the circumstances in detail. This new practice will be adopted in two trial divisions of the Seoul Central District Court and district courts in Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju, and Busan.
In addition, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office said Tuesday that it had decided to move away from document-based interrogations and adjudication and start "trials based on public hearings" in which the interrogation of the prosecutor and the refutation of the accused determines the defendant's guilt, in five district prosecutors' offices including the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office next month on a trial basis.
The prosecutors also announced plans to expand a system nationwide starting from next month in which prosecutors file a written arraignment with the court when indicting, without submitting evidence to correspond with emphasis on the principle of "trial based on public hearing" by the court. The new practice is expected to bring many changes in criminal trials. The court will decide whether the accused is guilty or not without preconception after reading the written arraignment only. The prosecutors can file evidence during the trial and the accused can view or copy the evidence.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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