According to the Supreme Court’s Sentencing Committee, people who used the content of the sentencing experience program “You Are a Judge” tended to choose lower sentences after the experience. (image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Feb. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — There is a big difference between choosing a sentence for a murder case just by watching the news and issuing a ruling after watching a video of the case as a direct judge.
According to the Supreme Court’s Sentencing Committee, people who used the content of the sentencing experience program “You Are a Judge” tended to choose lower sentences after the experience.
People who participate in the program first watch the news and decide on the sentence before they experience a trial.
Then, participants become a judge and decide on the specific amount of punishment after watching the video of the case, and arguments from both defense attorneys and the prosecution.
For the 2018 “Murder Crimes Penal Experience,” 25,930 people participated, the largest number, until November 30 last year.
The story was about a father who strangled his son, who had cursed and used violence on his mother for stopping his credit card.
Only 10.9 percent chose a suspended jail term before the experience, but the number pushed up to 40.4 percent after the program experience.
Meanwhile, the proportion of those who chose a life sentence or a sentence of more than 10 years in prison declined from 17.8 percent before the experience to 3.4 percent after the experience.
Only 13.9 percent chose a heavier sentence than the actual ruling through the People’s Participation Tribunal.
Furthermore, the “Theft Penal Experience” dealt with a case in which the defendant, who was working as a restaurant employee, stole 260,000 won (US$218) in cash and food ingredients that were being kept in a restaurant safe to pay for his daughter’s hospital bills.
The proportion of suspended prison sentences selection jumped from 29.5 percent before the experience to 72.7 percent after the experience, and the proportion of those who chose prison terms also declined overall.
The committee recently added new contents of “Hit and Run” and “Crime of Obstruction of Justice.”
The “Hit and Run Penal Experience” deals with the punishment for an incident in which a driver hit a pedestrian who was jaywalking at night and then drove away.
The crime of obstruction of justice can be interpreted as an incident in which a drunken man wielded a weapon at a police officer who was reported to the police at a convenience store entrance.
D. M. Park (dmpark@koreabizwire.com)
